The facts
Slovenian national domain registry Register.si reported 44,000 .si registrations in September 2026, up from fewer than 2,000 in August – a rise of more than 2,100%. Spokesperson Klara Herman described the September spike as “unprecedented” compared with the previous 12 months, while noting she was “cautious” about attributing the entire increase solely to President Donald Trump’s comments. She said 11,000 new registrations were recorded on 30 September alone. Trump advocated renaming artificial intelligence to “Super Intelligence” during his United Nations General Assembly speech on 11 September, saying the word “artificial” sounds “fake.” Later that month he signed an executive order directing U.S. government departments and agencies to use the terms “SI” and “Super Intelligence” instead of “AI” in official communications.
Our take
Trump’s UN speech about swapping “artificial intelligence” for “Super Intelligence” turned a two‑letter acronym into a speculative gold rush for Slovenia’s .si domain space. The timing lines up: his call on 11 September, the executive order later that month, and a sudden flood of registrations in September – 44,000 in total, with 11,000 on a single day. Register.si’s Klara Herman called the surge “unprecedented” but warned against pinning the whole phenomenon on Trump alone, suggesting typical cyber‑squatting motives may be at play. People are snapping up .si addresses in hopes of reselling them at a premium, a classic speculative fucking move when a high‑profile figure mentions a catchy abbreviation. The episode highlights how political branding can ripple into niche internet markets, creating noise for the registry and potential headaches for legitimate users. While the domain spike is real, the narrative that it’s a coordinated “Trump‑driven” plot overstates the evidence. It’s a reminder that even off‑hand remarks from powerful voices can generate market reactions, but those reactions are often driven by opportunists looking for a quick profit rather than any grand technological vision. In the end, the .si surge is less about a new era of super intelligence and more about the timeless allure of buying cheap real estate – digital or otherwise – and hoping to flip it for a tidy sum.
