Top White House aide Sebastian Gorka sparked online ire and mockery after he wagged his finger at a Newsmax anchor for using the word "AI."
Gorka, the deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, appeared on Newsmax on Thursday. During an interview, anchor Ed Henry wanted to talk about guardrails for AI when Gorka interrupted him.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Gorka said, wagging his finger at Henry. "It's SI. As of this week, it's Super Intelligence."
Trump declared during his September 22 UN General Assembly speech that all U.S. documents referring to AI will henceforth call it "super intelligence" because the word "artificial," he argued, "makes intelligence sound fake." The State Department followed through, ordering diplomats in its Bureau of International Organizations to use "super intelligence," The Hill reported.
Critics have noted that "super intelligence" already has a specific meaning. Philosopher Nick Bostrom, who popularized the term, defined it as "an intellect that is much smarter than the best human brains in practically every field," and has warned it could pose an existential threat to humanity, Gizmodo noted.
Henry didn't push back, telling Gorka, "Thank you for the clarification," but online critics expressed a collective facepalm in response to a clip of the interview.
"My God these people are so pathetic," ridiculed columnist and political scientist Richard Hanania.
"State-friendly mouthpiece, chastened by a government apparatchik, corrects his wrongspeak," mocked legal analyst and journalist Adam Klasfeld, taking a jab at Newsmax as well.
"Most pathetic 'news' interview ever," author and YouTuber Hemant Mehta slammed.
"I know we're all inured to bad behavior in the Trump administration," posted Michael A. Cohen, the MS NOW columnist and former government speechwriter. "But Sebastian Gorka is alleged to have been a member of a Hungarian neo-Nazi organization. Today, he works on the National Security Council." (Gorka has denied ties to the Hungarian far-right group.)
"Also the name 'Nazi' is hereby changed to 'MAGA,'" blasted TV host and political commentator Keith Olbermann.
"It's a cult," chimed in Ron Filipkowski, the editor-in-chief of the MeidasTouch political news network.