Korea has no plans to follow US push to replace term AI with 'super intelligence'

Korea is not considering replacing artificial intelligence with “super intelligence” in government terminology, the Ministry of Science and ICT said on Tuesday. The clarification followed Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon’s use of the term during a National Assembly audit. The United States is promoting SI through an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Sept. 29. Korea is instead prioritizing domestic AI capabilities, including a new frontier AI project aimed at strengthening national security and strategic industries.

Donald Trump’s executive order, titled “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence,” requires federal executive agencies to use SI instead of AI in official documents, websites, reports and policy papers.

Elon Musk said he plans to rename SpaceX’s AI division from SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI.

Bae Kyung-hoon said the U.S. initiative reflected ambitions several times greater than Korea’s initial targets.

Korea’s government plans to launch a state-backed frontier AI project alongside its existing national AI foundation model project.

The Korean government aims to position Korea among the world’s top three AI powerhouses.

Published Oct 8, 2026 11:41 am KST

Updated Oct 8, 2026 11:54 am KST

Science ministry set to focus on sovereign AI capabilities

Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon answers questions from lawmakers during an annual audit by the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Korea is not considering to replace the term artificial intelligence (AI) with “super intelligence,” or SI, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT, distancing itself from a terminology push underway in the United States.

An official from the ministry told The Korea Times that the government has no plans of replacing AI with SI.

“There has been no consideration at our level of using such terminology,” the official said on Tuesday.

The clarification came after Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, during a National Assembly audit earlier in the day, used the term SI while describing U.S. efforts to secure leadership in advanced AI competition.

The Donald Trump administration has been promoting the use of SI instead of AI. Trump signed an executive order titled "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence" on Sept. 29, requiring federal executive agencies to use SI instead of AI in official documents, including websites, reports and policy papers.

The shift has also drawn attention from the private sector. Elon Musk has said he plans to rename SpaceX’s AI division from SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, in line with the terminology promoted by the Trump administration.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters with Elon Musk at the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 29. AP-Yonhap

Korea’s science ministry is instead focused on strengthening domestic AI capabilities and developing technologies for national security and strategic industries, rather than changing terminology.

Bae said during the audit that the U.S. push reflected ambitions several times greater than Korea’s initial targets. He cited the U.S. initiative as one of the reasons behind the government’s decision to launch a new state-backed frontier AI project to develop an advanced homegrown AI model alongside the existing national AI foundation model project.

The initiative is part of the Korean government’s objective of positioning Korea among the world’s top three AI powerhouses. The ministry’s latest position underscores its focus on strengthening the country’s fundamental AI capabilities, rather than following Washington’s terminology shift, which it sees as offering little practical benefit.

韩国科学技术信息通信部周二表示，韩国政府术语中暂不考虑以“超级智能”取代人工智能。此前，韩国副总理兼科学部长裴京勋在国会听证会上使用了“超级智能”一词。美国正通过唐纳德·特朗普于9月29日签署的行政命令推广超级智能。而韩国则优先发展国内人工智能能力，包括一项旨在加强国家安全和战略产业的前沿人工智能项目。

唐纳德·特朗普的行政命令题为“开启超级智能时代”，要求联邦行政机构在官方文件、网站、报告和政策文件中使用超级智能（SI）而不是人工智能（AI）。

埃隆·马斯克表示，他计划将SpaceX的人工智能部门从SpaceXAI更名为SpaceXSI。

裴京勋表示，美国的这项倡议体现出的雄心壮志是韩国最初目标的数倍。

韩国政府计划在其现有的国家人工智能基础模式项目之外，启动一个由国家支持的前沿人工智能项目。

韩国政府的目标是将韩国打造成为世界三大人工智能强国之一。

发布于2026年10月8日上午11:41（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月8日上午11:54（韩国标准时间）

科学部将重点关注自主人工智能能力

周二，韩国副总理兼科学部长官裴京勋在首尔举行的国会年度审计会议上回答议员提问。（韩联社）

韩国科学技术信息通信部表示，韩国不考虑用“超级智能”（SI）取代人工智能（AI）一词，这与美国正在进行的术语改革运动保持距离。

该部一位官员告诉《韩国时报》，政府没有计划用系统集成取代人工智能。

“我们层面从未考虑过使用这种术语，”这位官员周二表示。

此前，韩国副总理兼科学部长裴京勋在当天早些时候的国会听证会上，用“SI”一词来描述美国为确保在先进人工智能竞争中保持领先地位所做的努力。随后，韩国政府对此进行了澄清。

唐纳德·特朗普政府一直在推广使用智能系统（SI）而非人工智能（AI）。9月29日，特朗普签署了一项名为“开启超级智能时代”的行政命令，要求联邦行政机构在包括网站、报告和政策文件在内的官方文件中使用智能系统（SI）而非人工智能（AI）。

这一转变也引起了私营部门的关注。埃隆·马斯克曾表示，他计划将SpaceX的人工智能部门从SpaceXAI更名为SpaceXSI，以符合特朗普政府推行的命名规则。

9月29日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿白宫与埃隆·马斯克一同会见记者。美联社-韩联社

韩国科学技术部并没有改变术语，而是专注于加强国内人工智能能力，并为国家安全和战略产业开发技术。

裴俊浩在审计中表示，美国的推动反映出其雄心壮志远超韩国最初的目标。他指出，美国的倡议是促使韩国政府决定启动一项新的国家支持的前沿人工智能项目，旨在与现有的国家人工智能基础模型项目并行开发先进的本土人工智能模型的原因之一。

这项举措是韩国政府将韩国打造为世界三大人工智能强国之一的目标的一部分。韩国科技部最新表态强调，其重点在于加强韩国自身的人工智能基础能力，而非盲目追随华盛顿的术语转变，因为韩国认为这种转变并无实际意义。