Takahashi Sanae Refuses to Rename AI as SI; Trump Warns: Those Who Don’t Change Are “Enemies”
Takahashi Sanae has publicly defied Donald Trump.
During a recent parliamentary inquiry, Takahashi explicitly stated that she does not support renaming artificial intelligence from AI to SI at this stage. Her rationale centers on the widespread familiarity with the term AI, which is already entrenched in both governmental and academic usage. A sudden shift, she argued, would be impractical.
On the same day, Trump posted on social media asserting that anyone who does not adopt the term SI will be regarded as an enemy of the United States. To underscore the point, he rendered the word “enemy” in all capital letters.
Trump first introduced the term SI—“superintelligence”—during his address at the United Nations General Assembly last month, arguing that artificial intelligence had long been perceived as a dubious technology, despite being a profound achievement. He contended that it deserved a designation reflecting its transformative potential.
Shortly thereafter, Trump issued an official directive mandating the exclusive use of SI in all government documentation, with a phased replacement of AI underway—a move characterized by swift implementation.
Several major U.S. tech firms swiftly aligned with the shift. Prominent among them are NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk, in particular, announced the rebranding of SpaceAI to SpaceSI and posted a statement declaring, “AI is gone, SI is better.”
At the White House’s “Science: The New Golden Age” summit held on Thursday, both Huang and Musk were awarded the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Meanwhile, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI—who has refused to adopt the new nomenclature—was notably absent from the list of recipients, raising speculation about possible underlying motivations.
As for why Takahashi dared to challenge Trump openly, some online commentators suggest Japan’s relatively slow pace in advancing AI development may have led to diminished sensitivity toward such semantic shifts within the field.
Yet Trump’s message has been unequivocal: those who do not change the name will be categorized as “enemies.” The question remains—does Takahashi seek to align with the United States or stand apart?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1878562576219212/
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