Trump’s “Super Intelligence” Rerouting Sparks Surge in Slovenian Domain Registrations
The U.S. President’s decision to rename artificial intelligence as “Super Intelligence” (SI) has triggered a record spike in the registration of .si domain names in Slovenia, with the national registry reporting 44,000 new names in September versus fewer than 2,000 in August.
According to spokesperson Klara Herman, the growth rate—over 2,100% month‑on‑month—is the biggest peak the Slovene registry has seen in its 12‑year history. She added that the September figure “stands out very clearly” against all other months this year, though she remained cautious about attributing the entire rise solely to Trump’s remarks.
Herman noted that on September 30 alone, 11,000 new .si addresses were registered. “We are seeing an unprecedented appetite to acquire domain names that match the new SI acronym,” she said. Experts point out that the surge may be driven by cyber‑squatting, where individuals reserve domain names in anticipation of future value.
The practice is not new: back in 1997 the “Domain King” Rick Schwartz bought men.com for $15,000, selling it for $1.32 million seven years later. The current wave could be a similar speculative gamble, with people digitising the new AI terminology before it becomes widespread.
Trump first announced the switch in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 11, saying the word “artificial” in AI sounded “fake.” He then signed an executive order, effective on September 29, that requires all U.S. federal agencies to use SI instead of AI in official documents, websites and correspondence.
The order’s signature was mocked online when it was revealed that “United States” was misspelled below Trump’s signature. Images of the order circulated widely, and the misprint sparked jokes across social media.
While the policy shift is unlikely to alter the fundamentals of AI development, the Slovenian domain boom illustrates how geopolitical rhetoric can spill over into unexpected economic niches, creating a surge of interest in niche naming rights and speculative investment opportunities.
