Trump’s Push to Rename AI “Superintelligence” Linked to Surge in Slovenia’s .si Domains

President Donald Trump’s proposal to rename artificial intelligence “superintelligence” may be behind an “unprecedented” surge in domain name registrations in Slovenia, according to the country’s official national registry.

Trump wants artificial intelligence to be called “Superintelligence,” or “SI”—the same acronym used by Slovenia’s national website domain.

Slovenia Records More Than 44,000 .si Domain Registrations

Register.si spokeswoman Klara Herman said there were 44,000 registered web addresses using the .si suffix in September, compared with fewer than 2,000 in August—an increase of more than 2,100%.

Herman said the level of activity in late September was “unprecedented” compared with the previous 12 months.

Trump called for the technology to be renamed during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 11.

“When you use the word artificial, it sounds fake,” he said.

“It’s not fake, it’s actually great. But you have to be careful… Welcome to the new world of superintelligence.”

11,000 New Slovenian Domains Registered in One Day

An internet domain is a unique, human-readable address that users type into a web browser to access a website, such as bbc.co.uk.

Herman said the number of .si web address registrations in September stood out “very clearly” compared with other months this year. However, she was “cautious” about attributing the entire increase to Trump’s comments alone.

She said 11,000 new registrations were recorded on September 30 alone.

Speculators May Be Buying .si Domains

One possible explanation is that people are registering domain names speculatively, hoping they will increase in value and can later be sold for a profit.

For example, in 1997, Rick Schwartz, known as “The Domain King,” purchased the domain name men.com for $15,000 (£11,300). He sold it seven years later for $1.32 million.

Trump Orders US Government to Use “SI” Instead of “AI”

On Tuesday, Trump hosted a conference of top technology leaders, describing it as an “extraordinary gathering” of people who are “building America’s Golden Age.”

He also signed an executive order directing US government departments to begin using the terms “SI” and “superintelligence” and to stop using the term “AI.”

According to the order, “SI” will replace “AI” in official communications, websites, reports and other forms of communication.

An image of the order’s signature was ridiculed online. It was later discovered that “United States” was misspelled below President Trump’s signature.