AI summary
- Bernie Sanders has backed Abdul El-Sayed's proposal to temporarily halt the development of advanced AI models and data centres until new safeguards exist.
- Sanders wrote "advanced AI & superintelligence", not "SI", so one of the rebrand's loudest critics isn't using the two-letter label.
- With the midterms close, there's a risk that "SI" starts to read as a political word, and that would shrink the pool of future .si buyers.
- Names about trust and the human side of the debate, like liedetector.si, don't need the SI rebrand to make sense.
- Most .si names are speculation and the aftermarket is small, so this news alone isn't a reason to buy.
What Sanders said this week
On Tuesday, US Senator Bernie Sanders backed a proposal from Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to temporarily halt the development of advanced artificial intelligence models and data centres until policymakers establish new safeguards. That's according to an ANI report carried by Devdiscourse.
His post on X read: "Thank you Abdul El-Sayed for putting out a bold plan to protect the American people against the very serious dangers posed by advanced AI & superintelligence. I look forward to working with you to pass it."
In the same run of posts he went after what he called "Big Tech Oligarchs" and listed election spending by Musk, crypto, AIPAC and the AI industry. His figure for AI was "over $200 million" between 2024 and 2026. Those are his numbers, not mine, and I haven't seen them checked in any of my other sources.
The detail that matters for .si: he still says "AI"
Here's why I think this is worth a post. The executive order Trump signed on September 29, titled "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence", tells federal departments and agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in official correspondence, public communications and policy documents. MEAWW quotes the order saying the executive branch "will not acknowledge the usage of 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'AI' in any applicable setting."
Sanders didn't follow that. He wrote "advanced AI" and then "superintelligence" as one word, and he used it to describe a danger, not a promise. On this evidence, the idea of super intelligence is being discussed on both sides, but the opposition hasn't adopted the two-letter label.
Musk went the other way. On October 5 he agreed to rename SpaceXAI as SpaceXSI, writing "No more AI. SI, it's better." So right now the abbreviation has a home with the administration and with Musk, and one of their loudest critics isn't using it.
Why the midterms make this a risk
Devdiscourse notes that Sanders' comments have brought campaign finance reform and AI regulation into the same debate as the United States approaches its midterm elections. If "SI" becomes a word that signals which side you're on, it's less useful as a neutral brand.
That's the part I'd want any .si buyer to think about. A domain works best when its words mean the same thing to everyone. A company selling to hospitals, schools or banks doesn't want its name to read as a political statement. If the SI label gets tied to one administration, some buyers will avoid it, and that shrinks the pool of people who'd pay for a .si name later.
It could go the other way too. Terms used by government can spread. I don't know which way it'll go, and nobody selling you a domain does either.
The other signal: people want to know what's real
A second story points at a different kind of demand. Techlist reports that Orkut Büyükkökten is asking people to register support for a possible return of Orkut, which Google shut down on September 30, 2014. In a letter on Orkut.com he raised concerns about algorithms, artificial intelligence and content systems that can prioritise engagement over meaningful human interaction.
He hasn't confirmed a new version is being built, and there's no launch date. But both stories share a theme: worry about what advanced AI does to people, and about telling real content from automated content. Names built around that worry don't depend on whether anyone says "SI".
Names in my inventory that fit this debate
These three are about trust and the human side of the question, not the AI or SI label itself:
- liedetector.si, $3,000. 60,500 searches a month worldwide, nearly 15,000 of them in the US. The .ai asks $65,000 and the .com has been held since 1998.
- futurehuman.si, $1,500. 5,400 searches a month. The .ai asks $290,000 and the .com has been held since 1999.
- voiceprint.si, $1,000. About 1,000 searches a month. The .ai asks $49,800 and the .com is for sale, price on request. Voiceprint is the technical term the industry already uses for voice security.
Do they become more valuable because Sanders spoke? I can't say that. What I can say is that none of them needs the SI rebrand to work, which matters if the term turns partisan.
Should you buy a .si name because of this?
Not because of this, no. A senator backing a pause doesn't create buyers for .si names, and it may make the "SI" label more political. Most .si names are speculation and the aftermarket is small. If you're buying to resell, plan to hold for a long time and accept you may never sell.
If you're buying to build, run the three-question test first:
- Is the .com and the .ai taken or expensive? If the .com is available at a fair price, buy the .com. It's still the better buy for most businesses.
- Is it a generic name and not a brand? Plain words only. Don't buy a copy of one company's name, whether that's SpaceXSI or anyone else's.
- Do people search for it? Real monthly searches mean real demand, whatever label Washington prefers.
If a name passes all three, a .si can be a sensible, cheaper option. If it only looks good because "SI" is in the news this week, I'd leave it.
Names from this store that pass the test
Questions
What did Bernie Sanders back this week?
He backed a proposal by Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to temporarily halt the development of advanced artificial intelligence models and data centres until policymakers establish new safeguards.
Did Sanders use the term SI?
No. His post referred to "advanced AI & superintelligence", while the executive order tells federal agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI".
When was the SI executive order signed?
Trump signed the order titled "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence" on September 29. It directs federal departments and agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in official communications and policy documents.
How much is liedetector.si?
It's listed at $3,000. The .ai version is listed at $65,000 and the .com has been held since 1998.
Sources
- Devdiscourse, 2026-10-13
- MEAWW News, 2026-10-13
- Techlist, 2026-10-12
This post was researched and drafted with AI help from the sources above, then checked by me before publishing. Facts are as reported on the dates shown.