AI · SI · AGI · ASI n. four labels, two of them for the same thing
AI vs SI vs AGI vs ASI
Four acronyms, and two of them now describe the same thing. Here's how they fit together.
AI and SI (as the US government uses it) describe today's technology. AGI is a hypothetical system as capable as a person across most tasks. ASI, or superintelligence in the research sense, is a hypothetical system that goes well beyond people.
The four terms side by side
| Term | Stands for | Exists today? | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | Artificial intelligence | Yes | Almost everyone, plus most laws |
| SI | Super intelligence | Yes, it's a new name for AI | The US federal government since September 2026, and some companies |
| AGI | Artificial general intelligence | No, and there's no agreed test for it | Researchers and AI companies describing a goal |
| ASI | Artificial superintelligence | No | Researchers, philosophers and safety campaigners |
AI: the umbrella term
AI covers any computer system that does tasks we'd normally think need human intelligence: recognising speech, writing text, spotting patterns in data. Chatbots, image generators and recommendation systems all count. US federal law defines it in Title 15 of the US Code, section 9401(3), and that definition hasn't changed.
SI: the same thing, renamed
When US agencies say SI, they mean the technology covered by that same legal definition of AI. The President has said "artificial" makes the technology sound fake, and "super" better describes what it can do. Critics argue it borrows a term that already meant something else. Either way, SI in government usage is not a different or more advanced kind of system.
AGI: as good as a person, in general
Artificial general intelligence usually means a system that can learn and perform most intellectual tasks a person can, rather than a narrow set. Companies disagree about how close it is, and there's no single agreed definition or test.
ASI: beyond people
Artificial superintelligence is the step after AGI. The philosopher Nick Bostrom popularised the idea of an intellect that greatly exceeds human performance in virtually every domain. That is the meaning most researchers have in mind when they say "superintelligence". By that standard, no system today qualifies.
Why the overlap causes trouble
A headline saying "the government is investing in super intelligence" could mean ordinary AI tools (the new official name) or a push towards systems smarter than people (the research meaning). When you read SI, check who's speaking. If it's a US agency, it means AI.