The United States is now trying to export its rename of artificial intelligence. A senior Treasury official says Washington is pressing fellow IMF shareholders to call the technology “super intelligence” in an official fund statement — and other members are pushing back. Why it matters: if the wording lands in a consensus IMF document, the new label stops being a White House preference and starts becoming international vocabulary.
Washington — October 15, 2026
What happened
Erin Browne, the Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, told Reuters on Thursday that the US is negotiating with other International Monetary Fund shareholders over the language of a statement being drafted by the fund’s steering committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC). Washington wants that statement to use “super intelligence” for the technology the rest of the world still calls artificial intelligence.
The push follows last month’s directive from President Donald Trump ordering US federal agencies to swap the old term for the new one in their own work. Browne said the administration also wants the change adopted abroad, pointing to the United States’ current rotating presidency of the Group of 20 as a channel for spreading it.
Where the negotiation stands
This is not settled. Browne would not say whether the US might withhold its support from the statement if the wording is not changed, and she described the talks as still under way. According to a source familiar with the discussions, American officials have signalled in meetings that they intend to insist on the new term — a stance that reportedly surprised some other committee members.
If no consensus emerges, the committee’s chair, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, still has a fallback option: issuing a chair’s statement that summarises members’ views without needing everyone’s agreement. Another possible compromise, the source said, is to avoid both labels entirely and refer only to new technology.
The IMFC is expected to hold a news conference and release whatever statement it agrees on Saturday, led by Al-Jadaan alongside IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
Why it matters
On the surface, this is an argument about two words. Underneath it is an argument about framing. Browne presented the technology as an engine of American and global growth, and cast the US as the country setting the standards and direction for its development. Terminology in IMF and G20 documents tends to stick: once a label is written into shared statements, finance ministries, regulators and central banks around the world start repeating it in their own papers.
For readers, the practical takeaway is simpler. Expect to see “super intelligence” — often shortened to SI — showing up in more official documents, speeches and policy papers, even while the products themselves, and everyone who builds and uses them, stay exactly the same. Everything AI, tested: a new name does not change what the technology can and cannot do, and we will keep judging it on the old standard — whether it works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US asking the IMF to change?
Washington wants an IMFC statement currently being drafted to refer to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence,” matching the terminology federal agencies were directed to adopt last month.
Who is leading the push?
Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Browne described the negotiations to Reuters on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
What happens if other IMF members refuse?
The committee chair could issue a chair’s statement instead of a consensus document, or the draft could sidestep both terms and talk about new technology in general. A statement is expected on Saturday.
Sources: Reuters