Trump AI rename sets off a .si domain rush
The president wants the field renamed, but the only measurable effect so far is a worldwide scramble for .si addresses — the country code of Slovenia.
In short
Trump wants artificial intelligence rebranded as “super intelligence,” and the only effect anyone can currently measure is a worldwide surge in .si domain registrations.
At a glance
- Trump has called for artificial intelligence to be renamed “super intelligence”; no order enacts it.
- Nikkei Asia reported a worldwide rise in .si domain registrations on October 10, 2026.
- .si is Slovenia’s country code; the report itself links the registration surge to the rebrand call.
- No registration counts, prices or time window appear in the freely readable part of the report.
- The Verge commentary on the rename could not be retrieved for this article.
President Donald Trump wants the field to stop calling itself artificial intelligence and start calling itself “super intelligence.” The clearest thing the push has produced so far is a land grab for two letters: .si. Nikkei Asia reported the surge in registrations on October 10, 2026.
A rename with no paperwork behind it
Nothing here is binding. “Artificial intelligence” is a term of art embedded in standards documents, statutes, procurement contracts and product names, and a presidential preference edits none of them. Trump’s naming habit works on people and on phrases nobody owns, from mocking nicknames for rivals to turning “fake news” against the press. It works less well on vocabulary that a research literature has already pinned down.
Where the money actually moved
The first measurable response came from domain registrars. Nikkei Asia describes .si registrations climbing worldwide in the wake of the call. The suffix belongs to Slovenia, but it reads as a two-letter stand-in for “super intelligence,” which is all a speculative buyer needs.
Country-code suffixes get repurposed whenever their letters happen to match an industry buzzword, and the usual outcome is resale listings rather than working sites. The size of this particular wave stays unquantified in the freely readable portion of the report.
What is not established
Three gaps matter for anyone reading this as a trend. There are no public figures attached: no registration counts, no pricing, no window of time. There is no sign yet that agencies, standards bodies or vendors will adopt the new label in documents that carry weight. And the Verge commentary arguing that the rename is falling flat could not be retrieved for this piece, so none of its reasoning is represented above.
Why the label is worth arguing about
Names set expectations before any specification does. “Artificial” concedes that a system was built, is bounded and can be audited. “Super” asserts that it sits above us, and quietly shifts the burden of proof onto whoever asks for oversight. Regulators, insurers and buyers end up negotiating the word whether they meant to or not.
FAQ
Did Trump officially rename artificial intelligence?
No. He has called for “super intelligence” to replace the term, but no executive order, standard or statute has been changed to match.
Why are .si domains suddenly in demand?
Because the two letters read as shorthand for “super intelligence.” Nikkei Asia reported a worldwide jump in registrations on October 10, 2026, without publishing counts in the freely readable text.
Who controls the .si domain?
It is Slovenia’s country-code suffix and is administered under Slovenian national registry rules, not by any US authority.
