I said on X that President Trump's post on Truth Social about "Super Intelligence" was deranged, but this deserves a longer examination than a Tweet because it illustrates some long-standing problems with the President's lack of professionalism, discipline and focus.
Let me be very blunt: This is how a cult leader acts. Demanding that everyone change their language (especially about something that was being talked about a full twenty years before I was even born) to stop using a term and use a new term coined by Dear Leader less than a month earlier, or be cast out and made into an enemy, is exactly how a cult leader would behave. If you follow along with this, you are part of a cult and you need to repent of your idolatry.
First, no it is not a "highly accepted" term just because President Trump used it on Truth Social. I realize that hyperbole is the President's native language, but this is beyond absurd. Second, no "super intelligence" is not more accurate. It was called Artificial Intelligence because it is artificial. Yes, the technology is improving rapidly and Learning Language Models (LLM) are almost conversational now, but it's not inaccurate to call it AI. The idea that people need to switch to a new term because Dear Leader says so is a hallmark of a totalitarian regime. This is not how a President acts. This is how a dictator (or a cult leader) acts.
The notion that someone is literally an enemy of the state because they're not using a term the President threw out in a random post on his social media platform is dangerous. Note that President Trump did not say someone who uses the "outdated" term is his enemy or an enemy of MAGA, but that someone who uses the "outdated" term is an enemy of the state. This shows how very insecure President Trump is, and dictators are often very insecure. It was Joseph Stalin's insecurity and paranoia that made everyone terrified to be the first to stop applauding him.
No, I do not think President Trump is going to imprison or execute people who use the "wrong" terminology for Artificial Intelligence. This is another example of him bloviating on social media with little thought to the implications of what he is saying or the consequences of his language. This is why President Trump's worst enemy has always been his own mouth.
There's no political upside to being this intransigent, especially leading into in a mid-term election where the President's party is going to lose seats. This is picking an unnecessary fight that will needlessly irritate people and give credibility to people who argue that President Trump is acting like a king. President Trump has actually done much good in weakening the power of the administrative state through regulatory reform, a policy that goes back to his first term. Which makes this weird obsession with "super intelligence" all the more baffling.
President Trump never apologizes or backs down. He thinks that is weakness. (It is not.) President Trump's advisors would be wise to tell him to let it go and move on to something else, but that would require someone to grow a backbone. President Trump does not want legitimate advice. He wants to be surrounded by sycophants who will praise every single thing he does. President Trump is so brittle, effeminate and immature that he thinks any disagreement means someone "hates" him.
If you want to be helped, you have to have people tell you "no" or at least tell you something is unwise. If you are learning any skill, from learning to play music to learning how to shoot free throws, you need to be told what you are doing wrong so you can learn how to be the best you can be. The most helpful feedback I get is not from people who compliment me, but from people who criticize me because they care about me. Because I am a sinner, I often do not respond with charity or grace, but that does not make the advice any less thoughtful or wise. For his own good, President Trump needs to be willing to be corrected.
This is how a cult leader acts
If you want to be helped, you have to have people tell you "no" or at least tell you something is unwise.
