Newsom signs executive order keeping Artificial Intelligence terminology in California

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-10-26 on September 30, 2026, directing state agencies to keep calling the technology Artificial Intelligence rather than adopt a new federal label. The order followed, by one day, a federal executive order in which President Trump renamed artificial intelligence as superintelligence.

What it is

The governor's office described the order as permanently declaring Artificial Intelligence to be called Artificial Intelligence in California. Newsom paired the signing with a series of worker-protection bill signings covering automated employment decisions and AI transparency.

What it requires

The order calls on all departments and agencies under gubernatorial authority to designate systems strictly as Artificial Intelligence and AI across official business. It states this applies notwithstanding any rebranded or different terminology used by the federal government. Newsom said in a statement accompanying the order that Super intelligence is clearly not coming from the White House, adding that is why California continues to lead. The order itself asserted the federal decree was informed by common sense, according to Politico's review of the text.

What security leaders should do

Security and compliance teams operating in California should standardize on Artificial Intelligence and AI terminology in policies, incident reports and vendor contracts that touch California state agencies, since the order applies specifically to departments and agencies under the governor's authority. Teams that also do business with federal agencies should track whether any federal terminology change affects naming in procurement documents, system inventories or risk registers, and build a mapping so that internal taxonomies stay consistent regardless of which label a counterparty uses. Because the order was issued alongside new state bills on automated employment decisions and AI transparency, security leaders should also review whether those parallel obligations affect how AI-related incidents and system changes are logged and reported in California.