Trump declares shift from 'artificial intelligence' to 'super intelligence,' tech leaders sign non-binding safety pact

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted many of the biggest names in artificial intelligence at the White House this week to announce two things: the government will now refer to the technology as "super intelligence" rather than "artificial intelligence," and industry leaders would sign a new safety pact. TechCrunch's Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane and Anthony Ha discussed the development.

The terminology shift was formalized through an executive order requiring official U.S. representatives to use "super intelligence" going forward. Over the weekend, Trump also announced the creation of a new "Super Intelligence Force."

A non-binding agreement

At the gathering, major tech executives — including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei — signed a document called the "Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities." The podcast hosts were skeptical of its impact, noting it is "deeply non-binding" from a legal standpoint and entirely voluntary. Trump himself described it as "morally binding." The document reportedly even misspelled "United States," suggesting it was assembled in haste.

A shifting relationship with Anthropic

Just days before the meeting, Anthropic had reportedly been at odds with the administration, including the Defense Department, which viewed the company as a national security risk. That dynamic shifted after Amodei was invited to a late-night dinner with Trump. Still, the hosts noted that tension between the Defense Department and Anthropic has not fully disappeared, even as other parts of the administration, such as the Treasury Department, have been more favorable toward the company.

Korosec suggested the meeting's real significance was as a rebranding effort — reframing public concern that AI threatens jobs and poses danger, by presenting "super intelligence" as something distinct and less threatening.