Pentagon renames its AI office the Super Intelligence Office

The Defense Department said it renamed its main AI office, called the CDAO, the Super Intelligence Office, or SIO. The department said the new title does not mark a shift in the office's mission.

According to the department, the new name instead brings the office into line with a wider push by the Trump administration to swap references to artificial intelligence for 'super intelligence' across the federal government.

The change follows a September announcement by President Donald Trump that federal agencies should swap AI references for 'super intelligence,' or SI. Trump argued that the word 'artificial' made the technology sound fake, even though its capabilities are growing, according to Breaking Defense.

Cameron Stanley, the department's top AI official, also leads the SIO. In a statement, he said the rebrand reflects the Pentagon's priorities going forward.

“We have moved beyond experimental prototypes. As the Super Intelligence Office, our mission is to harness the full power of sovereign Super Intelligence to ensure decisive military superiority across every domain,”

Cameron Stanley, top AI official at the Defense Department

The new name has drawn questions in the technology community. There, 'superintelligence' has long described a hypothetical form of general AI that would exceed overall human intelligence, a capability that, Breaking Defense noted, does not currently exist.

The Pentagon has been one of the federal government's most aggressive adopters of AI. The CDAO has led work to widen use of the technology across military operations and internal department functions, including GenAI.mil, an enterprise platform giving users access to commercial generative AI models.

The office's portfolio covers Maven, an AI tool for intelligence and targeting, plus the War Data Platform, a central data hub previously called Advana. It has also driven many exercises and experiments aimed at folding AI and other advanced capabilities into the department.

According to the department, the switch will reach its digital systems, business software and component headquarters in the coming weeks. Programs already running, pending industry solicitations and defense partnerships will carry on unaffected under the new name. The department has also launched SI.mil, which will serve as the office's main digital home.