On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump put his full weight behind “super intelligence” (SI), as he likes to call artificial intelligence, and called on the states to make use of the technology for its economic upside.
“As President, I am 100 percent in favor of Super Intelligence (SI), and will work with the many states in the U.S. that want to become RICH by having them. They are GOLD, and only foolish leadership will say ‘NO’ to the riches they bring! President DJT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The pronouncement comes even as voters have been pushing back on AI data centers. According to a poll of U.S. midterm voters, the issue has been a strong motivator for some Americans and could well have had an impact on the election result.
An exit poll conducted for the AP and other news organizations found that 56 percent of those surveyed made AI and data centers a “crucial or major” factor in their vote; 76 percent were against building one in their own community. The feeling was all the more hostile among those who cast their ballot for the Democrats.
Pew Research put out other figures in September showing a drop in favorability since January, with roughly half of Americans deeming data centers “mostly bad” for the environment, home energy costs, and quality of life. Three of the Senate seats the Democrats have taken over — in Texas, Ohio, and Iowa— have far more data centers than the 50-state median of 55. Texas has 31 data center construction projects in progress, more than any other state.
James Talarico, the winner in the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas, ran on a platform of putting tighter rules on data centers in the state. He has said the spread of data centers is down to corporate greed and Republican leaders more in tune with big business than the common man, and under the Trump administration, the facilities have been to blame for high costs. “Data centers are jacking up utility bills across the state of Texas,” Talarico said at a July news conference. “Billionaire-backed politicians are giving sweetheart tax deals to giant AI companies and then sticking us with the bill.”
In an executive order signed by Trump in September, federal agencies must use “Super Intelligence” and “SI” in place of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official communications and documents where the law allows.
He has made the White House’s position clear, calling an “enemy” anyone who clings to the word “artificial” instead of “super.” A Super Intelligence Force has been set up by the administration to coordinate the federal government’s policy on the technology.