US Treasury officials are negotiating with IMF partners to replace 'artificial intelligence' with 'super intelligence' in a committee statement, following a domestic directive by President Trump.
US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Browne stated that Washington is negotiating with other International Monetary Fund (IMF) shareholders to use the term "super intelligence" (SI) instead of "artificial intelligence" in a draft statement from the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC). The discussions took place during IMF/World Bank meetings in Bangkok on 15 October 2026.
The move follows a directive from President Donald Trump last month instructing US federal agencies to use "super intelligence" rather than "artificial intelligence." Browne said the US, which holds the G20 rotating presidency, wants the term adopted internationally because it "more appropriately encapsulates the technology at hand." She framed SI as a driver of US and global growth and productivity.
According to a source familiar with the talks, US officials suggested they would insist on the new language, a stance that raised eyebrows among some other IMFC members. Browne declined to say whether Washington would withhold support for the IMFC statement unless the wording changed.
The IMFC, which represents the IMF’s 191 member countries, was scheduled to hold a news conference and release any agreed statement on Saturday 17 October. The statement is led by Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
If consensus on the terminology fails, Al-Jadaan could issue a chair's statement. One fallback discussed is avoiding both "SI" and "AI" and speaking only of "new technology."
In AI research, "superintelligence" traditionally describes a hypothetical system that substantially exceeds human capabilities across a wide range of tasks. Current generative AI systems can outperform people in some areas but also make basic mistakes and struggle with sustained real-world reasoning. Researchers often distinguish between today’s AI, artificial general intelligence, and hypothetical superintelligence.
US officials argue that current AI systems have advanced far beyond what the word "artificial" suggests and that a stronger term better captures their economic importance. However, using "super intelligence" as a general replacement for AI could blur these distinctions and create confusion in scientific papers, regulation, and international agreements where precise definitions matter.
The US Treasury itself was still using "artificial intelligence" in official financial-sector guidance earlier this year, having released an Artificial Intelligence Lexicon and an AI Risk Management Framework in February. A global shift to "super intelligence" would require governments and institutions to decide whether they are merely changing the label or also changing the definition.
Renaming the category in an IMF steering-committee text is a consequential governance signal, as language in these documents can travel into G20 and fund statements used by finance ministries worldwide. The outcome remains pending until the communiqué is released. The push also reflects the administration's broader pro-development approach to advanced AI, contrasting with calls from some researchers and lawmakers for tighter controls.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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