Melania Trump’s big student AI competition gets a new name so the president doesn’t get mad

Melania Trump’s big student AI competition gets a new name so the president doesn’t get mad Melania’s competition was previously referred to as the ‘Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge’ - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in First lady Melania Trump has rebranded her student AI competition as the “Presidential Super Intelligence Challenge” in an apparent effort to keep President Donald Trump happy. Trump last week vowed that anyone who referred to the technology, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claud, as “Artificial Intelligence” over his “new and more accurate term, ‘Super Intelligence,’” would find themselves on his enemies list. Melania’s competition was previously referred to as the “Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge” in White House communications but the first lady rebooted the competition Tuesday using the Trump-approved terminology. She invited students and schools across the country to participate in the competition to “build and develop solutions to real-world challenges.” “Building on last year’s success, the 2027 Presidential Super Intelligence Challenge will empower our children to lead the world,” she said in a short video message. “The largest initiative in America’s education began with one bold idea,” the first lady continued. “Prepare America’s next generation to lead the world in the most transformative technology of our time: super intelligence. America’s next groundbreaking idea is already sitting in a classroom.” Participating schools will have the chance to earn the “First Lady Seal of SI Readiness” by “completing and submitting evidence of a rigorous set of milestones focused on SI readiness,” according to the news release. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to refer to AI as “SI” and “super intelligence” in official documents and communications. The order has no legal effect on the private sector. The president said that he wants the tech world to rebrand AI in part because Americans are turning against data centers, and he believes the term sounds “fake.” But insiders and lobbyists have privately expressed that the name is unlikely to catch on. “No one in the industry is about to start calling it super intelligence,” Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the progressive tech industry coalition Chamber of Progress, previously told Politico. “It’s like Gulf of America and Lake America. It’s something that only MAGA supplicants use.” But Trump can count on his former first buddy Elon Musk, who has pledged to rename one of his companies to SpaceXSI. Over the weekend, Musk posted on his X account, “No more AI. SI. It’s better.” When one of his followers asked if he would change the name SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, he replied, “Yes, we will make that change.” Technology in education has become one of the first lady's signature issues, along with advocacy for foster children, and lobbying Congress to pass the “Take It Down Act” making revenge porn a crime. The first lady visited an elementary school in North Carolina last month to see how staff and students are using AI in the classroom. She was questioned by reporters about keeping children safe online when it comes to AI. “Of course they need to be vigilant as well. But this is our future,” she said. “And we need to guide them and teach them what is available. If not, they will stay behind. And we need to be the first, in the United States, to lead.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments