At the Washington, DC AI Summit, President Trump made headlines for praising artificial intelligence while simultaneously expressing strong dislike for its name. His frustration was clear: he really doesn’t like the word “artificial” when it comes to AI, and thinks the term should be changed.
During his speech, Trump said, “Around the globe, everyone is talking about artificial intelligence… artificial, I can’t stand it.” He went on to explain, “I don’t even like the name. I prefer natural products, so could we clarify that, please? We should change the name. I actually mean that.”
He added, “I don’t like the name artificial anything. Because it’s not artificial. It’s genius. It’s pure genius.” While he didn’t suggest any new names himself, there are already alternatives floating around, like machine learning or neural networks. Heck, someone even joked about calling it “alternative-to-humans-that-also-scares-the-crap-out-of-them.” Okay, that last one’s definitely a joke.
Interestingly, Trump’s stance on disliking “anything artificial” appears to be at odds with his previous administration’s policies, such as signing an executive order to ease regulations on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So yeah, a bit of a contradiction there.
Honestly, the term “artificial intelligence” is often overused these days, sometimes applied to products with barely noticeable AI features, such as a pillow that adjusts your head when you snore. So maybe Trump’s annoyed by the overuse or misuse of the term.
It’s curious to wonder what he might think about the future arrival of artificial general intelligence, also known as the so-called “superintelligence.” Earlier this year, Trump became the first sitting US president to attend the Super Bowl, and he didn’t complain about the name there, so maybe he’s more comfortable with that kind of hype.
So here’s the question: if the leader of the world’s biggest superpower finds the name “artificial intelligence” so off-putting, what should we call it instead?
