Executive Order 14434 explained: what the “Super Intelligence” order actually requires
The order that made “SI” the US federal government’s word for AI, section by section: who it binds, what it changes, what it leaves alone, and what happens next.
In short: Executive Order 14434, signed on 29 September 2026 and published in the Federal Register on 2 October, tells US federal agencies to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in their non-statutory documents, as far as the law allows.
It defines Super Intelligence as exactly the technologies the existing legal definition of AI already covers. It leaves laws, regulations and contracts as they are, and asks for proposed legislation on a new definition within 60 days, by 28 November 2026. It binds US federal agencies only: not companies, not the public and not other countries.
The order at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Inaugurating The Era Of Super Intelligence |
| Number | Executive Order 14434 |
| Signed | 29 September 2026 |
| Published | Federal Register, 2 October 2026: 91 FR 63129, document 2026-20321 |
| Applies to | US executive departments and agencies |
| Next deadline | Proposed legislative language for a federal definition of “Super Intelligence”, due within 60 days: by 28 November 2026 |
What it says, section by section
Purpose
The order’s statement of purpose describes today’s frontier technologies as transformative and as marking “a new era of Super Intelligence”. It says the executive branch “will not acknowledge the usage” of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in any applicable setting. That is a description and a statement of intent, not a finding that any system meets the research definition of superintelligence.
The change of term
Executive departments and agencies must, “to the maximum extent permitted by law”, use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in place of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other non-statutory documents.
They do not have to alter previously issued regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants or other historical documents.
The definition
For the purposes of the order, “Super Intelligence” and “SI” mean the technologies already covered by the US legal definition of artificial intelligence in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3): a “machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments”. That applies unless Congress or a later presidential action says otherwise. Legally, then, SI is a new name for the same technologies.
A 60-day task
The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology must, within 60 days, submit to the President proposed legislative language for a federal definition of “Super Intelligence” and “SI” that “reflects the capabilities described in section 1” of the order. The proposal must assess whether the new definition should “modify, expand upon, or otherwise supersede” the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence. So the eventual legal meaning could differ from today’s; any such change needs an Act of Congress.
General provisions
The standard clauses found in most executive orders: it does not affect existing agency powers, it is subject to available funding, and it creates no rights that anyone can enforce in court.
What it does not do
- It does not change any law. An executive order directs the executive branch; it is not legislation. In US statute the term remains “artificial intelligence” until Congress decides otherwise.
- It does not bind anyone outside the federal executive branch. Companies, states, courts, the public and other governments can keep saying AI. Law firm Wiley described it as a change to “federal terminology, not the substantive scope of technologies currently covered by federal law”.
- It does not rewrite the past. Existing regulations, contracts and grants keep their wording.
- It does not say anything is a superintelligence. The technology covered is the same as before; only the label changes (AI or SI?).
- It does not set safety rules. The voluntary White House Accord on Super Intelligence, signed the same day, is a separate document.
What it means in practice
Reading US government documents. When a US federal agency now writes “SI” or “Super Intelligence”, read it as AI in the ordinary sense. Our glossary entry on SI sets out the different meanings.
Agencies applying it. The State Department told its staff in October 2026 to use “Super Intelligence” or “SI” in new communications and documents and renamed its American AI Exports Program the American SI Exports Program, while leaving legal citations, contracts and grants, and previously published material unchanged, according to Nextgov. Our timeline records it.
US federal contractors. Wiley advises contractors and grant recipients to expect “SI” in agency communications and procurement material, and to seek clarification where needed that requirements remain the same. It also notes that the order does not address whether federal rules override state AI laws, which still use “artificial intelligence”, so for now the two terms will sit side by side.
UK readers and businesses. There is no direct effect. UK law, the AI Security Institute and UK regulators still say AI. Freshfields notes that any future statutory definition “could shape the scope of future federal incentives, export controls, oversight, compliance obligations” and government-contract requirements, which is how it could eventually reach UK companies that sell into the US.
How it fits the timeline
The order followed two Truth Social polls (19 and 21 September 2026) and the President’s statement at the United Nations on 22 September that US government documents would use the new term. It turned that stated convention into a formal instruction to agencies. The full sequence is on our dated timeline.
What the 28 November deadline means
What is due on 28 November is a proposal to the President, not a new law. Until Congress legislates or a later presidential action replaces it, the order’s working definition continues to apply.
A note on the term
In this order, “Super Intelligence” is the administration’s name for the systems already defined in law as artificial intelligence. It does not mean that anyone has shown artificial superintelligence, meaning AI that outperforms humans across virtually all domains, to exist.
Related, but separate
On 4 October 2026 the President announced a federal task force, the Super Intelligence Force. It was not created by this order. See our timeline.
What we are watching
- The proposed legislative definition of “Super Intelligence”, due by 28 November 2026, and whether it goes beyond the current definition of AI.
- Whether Congress takes it up.
- How consistently federal agencies apply the new term on their websites and in their documents.
- Whether any other government, regulator or standards body adopts the term. At the time of writing, none had.
This page is reviewed monthly, or sooner when something changes.
Sources
- The White House, “Inaugurating The Era Of Super Intelligence”, executive order, 29 September 2026.
- Federal Register, Executive Order 14434, 91 FR 63129, document 2026-20321, 2 October 2026: primary source for the text.
- The White House, “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Inaugurates The Era of Super Intelligence”, 29 September 2026.
- 15 U.S.C. 9401(3), definition of artificial intelligence (National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020).
- Wiley, “Executive Order Rebrands AI as ‘Super Intelligence’ and Signals Potential Federal Legislative Changes”, 2 October 2026: legal analysis.
- Nextgov/FCW, “State Department orders ‘super intelligence’ wording across all official communications”, 20 October 2026: secondary.
- Freshfields, “Trump Executive Order Mandates Shift to ‘Super Intelligence’”, 1 October 2026: legal analysis.
- Defense One, “White House unveils ‘super intelligence’ executive order and industry accord”, 29 September 2026.
Common questions
- What is Executive Order 14434?
- An order signed by President Trump on 29 September 2026, titled “Inaugurating The Era Of Super Intelligence”. It directs US federal agencies to use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in non-statutory documents, as far as the law allows.
- Does Executive Order 14434 apply to companies?
- No. It instructs US federal departments and agencies only. Companies, states, the public and other countries are not required to change the words they use, although federal contractors can expect to see “SI” in agency documents.
- Does the order change the legal definition of AI?
- No. It defines “Super Intelligence” as the technologies already covered by the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence. Changing that definition would need an Act of Congress; the order asks for proposed legislative language within 60 days.
- When is the deadline for a legal definition of Super Intelligence?
- The order gives the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology 60 days from 29 September 2026, which is 28 November 2026, to propose legislative language. Congress would then have to act on it.