Super Intelligence: White House rebrands AI (and summons tech giants)

The White House, in July 2023, decided "Artificial Intelligence" just wasn't cutting it anymore. Now it's officially "super intelligence," a rebranding effort that feels a lot like a marketing stunt. They also rounded up Silicon Valley's biggest names, from Zuckerberg to Bezos, for an urgent summit. During the meeting, President Biden signed an executive order making the new AI name official. The attending CEOs, including Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Elon Musk (X, Tesla), and Dario Amodei (Anthropic), signed an AI safety pledge. The President called it "morally binding," but we'll see how that plays out.

While politicians fret over names and pledges, companies like Meta and OpenAI are actively working to present their AI products with a friendlier and more approachable image to the public. The goal is to make them less threatening, perhaps with simple interfaces and a reassuring tone. It's a bit like putting a bow on a robot that might one day decide it's had enough of us. This effort to "sweeten" AI aims to ease growing public fears, but the reality is huge money is still being poured into its development. The risks and opportunities are massive, and media attention is high. It's hard to say if a smile or a new name will reassure everyone, but the charade has certainly begun.