President Donald Trump’s stated support for voluntary industry guardrails and the decision to rebrand artificial intelligence as “super intelligence,” or “SI,” are the latest developments in an increasingly fragmented workplace technology regulatory landscape.
Trump’s Sept. 29 executive order directs federal agencies to use the new terminology in government communications, websites, reports, and policy documents. The order states that “super intelligence” better reflects technology that goes beyond automating or imitating discrete aspects of human intelligence.
For employers, the more consequential issue may be what the administration’s regulatory approach means for workplace governance.
The federal government is emphasizing voluntary industry guardrails rather than what Trump has characterized as onerous regulation. At the White House, leaders of Google, Anthropic, Meta, Nvidia, xAI and OpenAI signed a “morally binding” accord committing to internal controls and external audits. The agreement calls for independent assessments of whether AI systems are operating as intended and board-level oversight of controls designed to prevent systems from hacking other systems.
That approach puts greater responsibility on employers to determine how AI should be governed inside the workplace.
The potential for conflicting requirements is particularly significant for multistate employers. California and other states continue to develop workplace technology laws addressing issues such as biometric information, employee monitoring, automated employment decisions, and disclosure requirements. Those rules can apply regardless of whether the federal government refers to the technology as AI or SI.
In the AI space, the term “super intelligence” already refers to a specific kind of AI that exceeds the cognitive capabilities of humans in virtually all aspects of thinking. Superintelligent AI has not yet been achieved.
HR, legal, and compliance teams will need to focus less on terminology and more on the actual uses and risks of workplace technology.
That means establishing clear governance frameworks for automated tools used in recruiting, hiring, scheduling, performance management, workforce analytics, and employee benefits. Employers may need to identify where human review is required, document how algorithmic recommendations are evaluated, and establish procedures for employees and candidates to challenge potentially consequential automated decisions.
For HR executives, the developments reinforce the need to treat AI governance as an enterprise responsibility rather than an IT issue. Even without comprehensive federal workplace AI regulation, organizations can face legal, reputational, and employee-relations risks if automated systems produce discriminatory outcomes, compromise privacy, or operate without adequate human oversight.
Was this resource helpful?
Validate your HR expertise
Earning your SHRM-CP credential makes you a recognized expert and leader in the HR field.
Related Content
Learn how Marsh McLennan successfully boosts staff well-being with digital tools, improving productivity and work satisfaction for more than 20,000 employees.
The proliferation of artificial intelligence in the workplace, and the ensuing expected increase in productivity and efficiency, could help usher in the four-day workweek, some experts predict.
As artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, the demand for workers with the ability to work alongside and manage AI systems will increase. This means that workers who are not able to adapt and learn these new skills will be left behind in the job market.