NewPARACalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday, mandating all state agencies to refer to advanced computing as ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and the acronym ‘AI’, even as the federal government adopts a different label. The order, described by Newsom as a permanent declaration, was issued in direct response to President Donald Trump’s instruction to the federal executive branch to use the term ‘superintelligence’ for the technology.
NewPARAThe governor’s statement on X quipped, “I just signed an executive order permanently declaring Artificial Intelligence ‘Artificial Intelligence’ in California. You’re welcome, America.” Newsom added that the terminology shift should not distract from addressing documented safety and security risks associated with AI.
NewPARATrump’s decree came a day earlier, with the President arguing that the technology is “not artificial.” A White House meeting the same day saw tech leaders—Google’s Sundar Pichai, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang—sign the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence,” urging companies to monitor model capabilities and establish internal safeguards.
NewPARAIn a separate briefing, Newsom criticized the federal government’s lack of leadership on AI safety, saying, “We have to do a lot more in the absence of federal leadership.” He hinted at calling lawmakers back for a special session on the issue, while also signing several state bills aimed at protecting workers from AI‑related layoffs and restricting the use of AI in disciplinary decisions.
NewPARAThe executive order is a prelude to California’s broader AI governance agenda, which lawmakers plan to advance in the next legislative session. By locking in the terminology, the state signals its intent to regulate AI development and deployment under its own regulatory framework, independent of federal rebranding efforts.