On Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department directed employees to call artificial intelligence “super intelligence” and use “SI” instead of “AI” in most circumstances, including court filings when appropriate. The order covers public communications, policy documents and other official records “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”
The Federal Rebrand
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter issued the directive after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week requiring federal agencies to adopt the terminology. Trump said the new wording would better reflect the potential of rapidly advancing technology.
The directive governs language used by federal employees. It doesn't establish a new regulatory framework or explain how the terminology change will affect workers or the public. According to Reuters, public perception of artificial intelligence has soured after hacking incidents raised safety questions.
Trump has resisted new regulations for the technology but has said the Justice Department would rein it in if necessary. The administration's approach combines a government-wide terminology change with a promise of possible enforcement, though the source gives no details of proposed rules or specific enforcement measures.
The order also covers legal communications. Justice Department employees must use the terms in court filings when appropriate and as the law permits. The memo doesn't name particular cases or filings that will adopt the new wording.
A Federal Task Force
The Hill reported that Trump selected four administration officials to lead a new “Super Intelligence Force,” or SIF, amid pressure over AI risks and months of mixed messaging on White House AI policy. The group will explore the technology's benefits and risks and work to ensure America's lead in the development race.
Jay Clayton, head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, will lead the group. Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael, Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson and Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, will serve as vice chairs.
The reported remit puts both potential benefits and risks within a federal effort to maintain a national lead in development. The source doesn't describe the group's budget, staffing, proposed rules or how it will weigh safety against competition. It also doesn't report a role for workers, unions or public-interest groups in the force.
Private Development Continues
On Monday, open-source startup Reflection AI released its first open-weight model, Beam. Nvidia backs the company, which said Beam rivals leading open technologies in the United States and China.
In a blog post Monday, Reflection AI said Beam is on par with some leading open-source models made in China, including Chinese AI startup Z.ai's GLM-5.2, and comes close to Alibaba's Qwen3.8-Max. Those were the company's claims. The report offered no independent testing results, sales figures or financial returns for Beam.
The articles identify a government directive, a new federal task force and a private company's model release, but provide no figures on profits, employment or labor conditions tied to the development race. They also report no organized labor response or worker-led resistance. Reflection AI's release and the administration's stated aim of preserving America's lead place private-sector development alongside a federal effort focused on the technology's risks, benefits and competitive position.