SI: what "Super Intelligence" means for your AI plans

On September 29, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order replacing the term "Artificial Intelligence" ("AI") with "Super Intelligence" ("SI") across the executive branch. If you sell to the federal government, work with agencies, or read their RFPs, you'll see "SI" where you used to see "AI". The technology itself hasn't changed, and the teams that build it haven't either.

What the executive order says

According to the White House fact sheet, the order:

• Directs departments and agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in official correspondence, public communications, policy documents and non-statutory documents.
• Directs agencies to stop using the terms "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" in those materials.
• Asks the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology to propose a federal definition of "Super Intelligence" and "SI".

The administration's stated reason is that "Super Intelligence" better reflects the capabilities of today's technology than a name that implies imitation.

What changes, and what doesn't

• Federal language changes. Expect "SI" in agency documents, grant language, procurement and public communications.
• Definitions may follow. A formal federal definition has been requested but, as of October 2026, not yet published. Watch for it if you work on federal contracts.
• The technology doesn't change. Models, data pipelines, evaluation and infrastructure work exactly as before. The renaming is a government naming decision, not a technical one.
• Industry language is mixed. Most companies, vendors and researchers still say "AI". In practice you'll need to recognize both terms for a while.

Building SI systems that actually ship

Whatever you call it, the hard part is the same: getting from a promising prototype to a system that runs in production, passes security review and keeps working. That takes senior engineers who own the whole path, from data and models to deployment and monitoring.

That's what our AI pod teams do: dedicated teams of senior engineers, about seven people including a tech lead and an ML engineer, who build inside your cloud and repos, in your time zone. Need individual specialists instead? Hire AI engineers, LLM engineers or MLOps engineers who embed in your team. See everything in one place on our AI page.

FAQ

Is SI the same thing as AI?

Yes, in practice. The order renames the term within the executive branch. It doesn't define a new kind of technology, though a federal definition has been requested.

Is "Super Intelligence" the same as superintelligence in AI research?

Not necessarily. In research, "superintelligence" usually refers to hypothetical systems that far exceed human ability across domains. The federal "Super Intelligence" term is a renaming of AI as a whole.

Should my company switch to saying SI?

If you sell to or work with federal agencies, mirror their language in proposals and documents. For everyone else, using both terms where it helps clarity is reasonable while usage settles.

Can Ryz build SI systems for us?

Yes. Our AI pod teams and senior engineers build production AI, or SI, systems inside your stack. Pricing is a custom quote, scoped per team.

Questions we didn't answer? Email info@ryzlabs.com.