What happened
On 29 September 2026 the White House issued an Executive Order directing federal agencies to replace 'Artificial Intelligence/AI' with 'Super Intelligence/SI' in non-statutory communications and requiring proposed legislative language within 60 days. NIST has begun adopting the term and its Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI, formerly the AI Standards Center) is now tasked with facilitating SI testing/standards research and representing US interests internationally 'to guard against burdensome and unnecessary regulation' of American technologies and 'ensure US dominance of international SI standards'. The White House fact sheet frames the order around capability expansion and economic deployment over catastrophic-risk focus.
Why it matters
This directly reshapes the mandate of the US body that produces the most-adopted AI-security frameworks (AI RMF, Cyber AI Profile, agent standards work). It signals a standards posture favoring speed and US international dominance over precautionary risk controls, which can affect the tone, scope and timelines of NIST guidance that enterprises map to, and may create divergence from EU/ISO risk-focused approaches at international standards body level. Practitioners should expect re-labeled NIST documents and a shift in how AI-security guidance is framed.
Action needed
Monitor NIST/CAISSI communications and any agency implementation rules; track whether upcoming drafts (e.g., Cyber AI Profile, agent standards) change in risk posture; reassess compliance-assurance expectations if US-based AI guidance shifts toward capability-first language.