AI summary
- On Monday's Pod Force One podcast, Trump stopped New York Post reporter Miranda Devine for saying 'AI', and she corrected herself to 'super intelligence'.
- MIT Technology Review argues the rebrand will turn a choice of words into a political loyalty test.
- Government use is patchy: ICE now asks for 'SI-powered' tools, but the FTC, HHS and the Pentagon have all slipped back to older wording.
- Agency leaders have to draft a legislative definition of 'Super Intelligence' for the president by the end of this month, so that's the next date to watch.
- For .si buyers, a word that splits people politically is a risk, so plain generic names are the safer bet and a .com you can afford is still the better buy.
What happened on Pod Force One
On Monday, Donald Trump corrected one of his own supporters for saying "AI". HuffPost reports that New York Post reporter Miranda Devine, whom it describes as a major supporter of Trump, used the acronym on her "Pod Force One" podcast and the president cut in. She switched straight away: "Sorry! Sorry, super intelligence," and went on to ask about bots and agents attacking infrastructure.
Trump's answer didn't use the old term at all: "So we're leading in super intelligence, we're leading in SI, and we're leading by a lot." He added: "Whoever wins in SI will end up winning, and we're leading by a lot."
It's a small moment, but it isn't one I've covered before. Earlier posts here dealt with the September executive order, the "THE ENEMY" post and his stated plan to ban the term. This time he's correcting the word live, in a friendly interview, with someone who's already on his side.
MIT Technology Review calls it a loyalty test
On the same day, MIT Technology Review looked at who is falling in line. Its main argument is that the rebrand "will turn a choice of words into a political loyalty test". It points to the Associated Press, which the administration barred from some White House press events after the outlet didn't adopt the term "Gulf of America".
The piece notes that AI is a technology two-thirds of Americans say they use several times a week, far more than people think about a lake's name. Its verdict: "It might be the boldest rebrand yet."
The writer's worry is that people who disagree about AI won't split along party lines today, but they might once one side says "super intelligence" and the other says "AI". For anyone building a brand, that's the part to take seriously.
Inside government, the switch is patchy
MIT Technology Review lists where the new term has landed and where it hasn't:
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a new request for companies to build "SI-powered" surveillance for ICE detention facilities.
- The National Institutes of Health website now has a banner warning visitors they might see both the old and the new terms during the transition.
- A day after the order, the Pentagon announced Project Meridian using the old terminology.
- A Federal Trade Commission press release last week used "superintelligence" rather than the two-word, capitalised version the president ordered.
- Recent Health and Human Services press releases show no sign of the new language.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used "AI" in an interview on October 3.
The order doesn't apply to previously issued regulations or documents, and offices such as the Pentagon's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office still carry the old name. That's why the magazine expects "AI" to stick around. The next date to watch is the end of this month, when agency leaders have to give the president a draft legislative definition of "Super Intelligence".
Outside government, the press isn't following
On October 27, Trump criticised The Wall Street Journal for not using "Super Intelligence", calling it "the name which virtually everyone else is using, or soon will be." According to MIT Technology Review, though, even Newsmax isn't using the president's preferred term. On third-quarter earnings calls, CNBC found that only Zuckerberg and Musk used it consistently.
There's a side story too. dev.ua, citing The New York Times, reports insiders saying Trump's media diet includes so-called "AI junk", meaning low-quality or fabricated AI content. Whatever you call the technology, fake content is a problem people want solved.
What a loyalty test means for a domain name
When a word turns political, it cuts both ways for a brand. If "SI" becomes the normal word, early names gain. If it becomes a badge of one side, a company that sells to everyone may steer clear of it, and some customers may read an SI-themed name as a statement.
My view is that the safest .si names don't depend on the politics at all. They're plain words people already type, where the .si ending is a bonus rather than the whole pitch. Some that fit this news from my inventory:
- liedetector.si ($3,000): 60,500 searches a month worldwide, the .ai is listed at $65,000 and the .com has been held since 1998. It fits the synthetic media problem in the dev.ua report.
- aiprompts.si ($5,500): 201,000 searches a month, the .ai is listed at $44,500 and the .com has been held since 2018. It keeps "ai" in the name, so it works whichever word wins.
- aivideoeditor.si ($5,000): 201,000 searches a month worldwide, and the .com asks $149,995.
- greatmind.si ($2,000): the .com is listed at $500,000 and the .ai is for sale with the price on request. It's neutral wording with no political tag.
- futurehuman.si ($1,500): the .ai asks $290,000 and the .com has been held since 1999. It has only 5,400 searches a month, so it's a brand play, not a traffic play.
Should you buy a .si name because of this?
Not because of one podcast moment. Trump correcting a supporter tells you he's serious about the word. It doesn't tell you whether businesses, the press or the public will follow, and the evidence so far says they're mixed. Most .si names are speculation, and the aftermarket for them is small. Don't expect to resell quickly.
If you're thinking about one, use my three-question test:
- Are the .com and .ai taken or expensive? If you can buy the .com at a price you can live with, buy the .com. It's still the better default.
- Is it a generic name and not a brand? Plain words only. Don't buy anything that copies one company's name, and given the loyalty-test risk, I'd avoid names that only make sense as a political pun on "SI".
- Do people search for it? Real monthly searches give a name value whether "SI" catches on or not.
If a name passes all three, a .si can be a sensible, cheaper option. If it doesn't, I'd keep your money. You can see the full list at aidomains.si.
Names from this store that pass the test
Questions
What did Trump say on the Pod Force One podcast?
After Miranda Devine used the acronym AI, Trump cut in and she corrected herself to 'super intelligence'. He then said, 'Whoever wins in SI will end up winning, and we're leading by a lot.'
Are US government agencies all using 'SI' now?
No. ICE has asked for 'SI-powered' surveillance tools and NIH shows a transition banner, but an FTC release used 'superintelligence', HHS releases show no sign of the new term and the Pentagon's Project Meridian used the old wording.
What's the next deadline to watch?
According to MIT Technology Review, federal agency leaders have to draft a legislative definition of 'Super Intelligence' for the president by the end of this month.
Does the executive order replace 'AI' in older documents?
No. MIT Technology Review says the order doesn't apply to previously issued regulations or documents, which is one reason it expects 'AI' to stick around.
Sources
- HuffPost, 2026-11-02
- MIT Technology Review, 2026-11-02
- dev.ua, 2026-11-02
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.