Gavin Newsom orders California firms to keep ‘AI’ name unchanged after Trump’s ‘superintelligence’ decree
California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken another swipe at President Donald Trump, this time over the administration’s push to replace the term “artificial intelligence” with “superintelligence”.Newsom on Wednesday signed an executive order directing California state agencies and departments under his authority to continue referring to the technology as “artificial intelligence” or “AI”, regardless of any different terminology adopted by the federal government, unless required otherwise by law.Sharing the move on X, Newsom said: “I just signed an executive order permanently declaring Artificial Intelligence ‘Artificial Intelligence’ in California. You’re welcome, America.”The order states that California agencies must refer to artificial intelligence as “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI”, even if the federal government adopts different or rebranded terminology.
Newsom hits back at Trump’s ‘superintelligence’ push
The order came a day after Trump directed the federal government to use the term “superintelligence” for AI, arguing that the technology is “not artificial”.Newsom, in a statement accompanying his executive order, said: “Super intelligence is clearly not coming from the White House — that’s why California continues to lead.”The California governor has also criticised what he described as a lack of federal action on AI safety. Speaking to reporters, Newsom said, “We have to do a lot more in the absence of federal leadership,” while leaving open the possibility of calling lawmakers back for a special session on the issue.Newsom’s executive order also argues that changing the terminology for AI should not distract from addressing documented safety and security risks associated with the technology.His announcement also came alongside the signing of several California bills aimed at protecting workers from potential AI-related impacts, including measures concerning layoff notices and restrictions on using AI in disciplinary and firing decisions.
Trump gets tech CEOs to back ‘Super Intelligence’ term
Trump’s push to rebrand AI followed a White House meeting with several leading technology executives on Tuesday.Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang signed the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence” during the meeting.The accord encourages AI companies to monitor the capabilities of their models and establish internal teams to help prevent AI systems from carrying out unintended hacks.The document, however, drew attention for a typo under Trump’s signature, where the United States was referred to as the “Unites States.”
