Trump’s attempt to rename AI is looking awfully artificial
The Verge Adi Robertson
Opinion — commentary, not a factual news event.
Trump is trying to sell AI as “super” and make “artificial” sound like an insult. Some big AI names are playing along, but the word game may be harder than his old hits.
Based on reporting by The Verge, Adi Robertson — read the original for the full story.
Summary, retelling and take written by AI under human oversight; images are AI-generated illustrations. How we work · Report an error
Donald Trump seems to think he can do with artificial intelligence what he’s done with so many other phrases: bend the meaning until it helps him. Over the past few weeks, he has started framing AI as “super,” while using “artificial” as a new insult for people who don’t want to go along. He’s also labeled the holdouts “THE ENEMY.”
That’s a very Trump move. He has long used nicknames and loaded language as political tools, and he’s already shown he can take a phrase that used to mean one thing and make it stick as something harsher. Now he’s trying the same trick on AI, a technology he wants to move faster.
The catch is that this one may be harder to pull off. “Artificial” is baked into the term itself, and that makes the campaign against the word feel a little too obvious. Language can be slippery, but it also has a way of resisting command from above.
Still, some of the biggest names in AI are going along with him. That’s the part to watch: not just the rhetoric, but how much of the industry is willing to repeat it back.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is classic Trump: take a neutral word, slam it on the pavement, and call the result messaging. The interesting part isn’t the insult, it’s how quickly powerful tech companies learn to nod along when the right person changes the vocabulary. That’s not innovation; that’s branding with better servers.
Read more about this at: The Verge