President Donald Trump is advocating for Artificial Intelligence to be renamed ‘Super Intelligence,’ dismissing safety concerns as a ‘hoax,’ even as AI leaders like Sam Altman and Dario Amodei prepare to address the UN Security Council on regulation.
This push for rapid AI development coincides with critical U.S.-China discussions on the technology during President Xi Jinping’s visit, alongside market enthusiasm for tech stocks and a dip in oil prices due to renewed U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd coming to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC's Daily Open.
President Donald Trump's flair for renaming things now extends to the cutting edge of technology. His latest initiative aims to rebrand Artificial Intelligence (AI) as 'Super Intelligence,' asserting that the term 'artificial' implies a fake quality which, he argues, is far from the truth of this truly 'amazing' technology.
However, this linguistic facelift comes at a time when global leaders are grappling with the profound implications of AI development. A unified international approach to AI safety is a critical topic, especially with Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Washington D.C. later on Wednesday.
The Great AI Divide: Speed vs. Safety
Trump's endorsement for accelerating the development of 'Super Intelligence' stands in contrast to the growing calls for caution from his global peers. Many are seeking to establish crucial safety rules around this powerful technology. This Wednesday, the CEOs of OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Anthropic, Dario Amodei, along with Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue, are scheduled to address the United Nations Security Council to debate AI safety and regulation. Their appearance follows mounting warnings to temper the rapid pace of model development, warnings that President Trump has controversially dismissed as a "hoax" and a "scam."
The critical discussions around AI are set to be a key talking point during Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlighting the complex geopolitical dimensions of technological advancement.
Frontier FOMO: Tech Rally Continues
Despite the regulatory debates, investors remain largely optimistic. A robust rally in technology stocks on Tuesday propelled the Nasdaq Composite to yet another record high, achieving both a new all-time intraday peak and a record close. Futures saw flat trading in early Wednesday sessions, indicating a broadly positive sentiment carried over from Asian markets.
Oil Oscillations Amidst Renewed Diplomacy
Meanwhile, crude oil prices experienced a downturn on Wednesday following news of a "very good meeting" between U.S. and Iranian officials on the sidelines of the UN assembly. President Trump confirmed the three-hour discussion, an unexpected development given his earlier address to the U.N. where he stated he faced a "big decision" between reaching a deal with Tehran or contemplating more drastic measures. Regional reports suggest Iran has communicated its conditions for ending its seven-month conflict with the U.S. through a Qatari mediator.
— Leonie Kidd
*Please note, the Daily Open EMEA will be coming to you from my colleagues in Singapore for the next few days*
And Finally... Cheaper Models Roll Out Post-Slowdown Calls
In a significant move following calls for a slowdown in AI development, both Anthropic and OpenAI unveiled new, more cost-effective artificial intelligence models on Tuesday. Both frontier labs continue to navigate intense competition from more affordable, open-weight competitors.
OpenAI introduced additional tiers to its GPT-6 family: GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna. These new offerings come with a substantial 50% reduction in API prices compared to GPT-5.6 promotional rates. GPT-6 Sol is designed for complex tasks such as coding, while GPT-6 Luna is optimized for high-volume operations like information extraction and document summarization.
Similarly, Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5.5, the latest iteration within its new Claude 5.5 model family, signaling continued innovation despite the prevailing debates on AI development pace and safety.
— CJ Haddad
