US Census Bureau Changes AI Survey Wording to 'Super Intelligence', Breaking Adoption Data Continuity
Due to Executive Order 14434, the US Census Bureau changed the AI question in its BTOS survey to 'Super Intelligence', rendering historical data incomparable and pausing official adoption tracking.
The U.S. Census Bureau has made a significant wording change to a key question in its bi-weekly Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS). This shift stems from Executive Order 14434, signed by the U.S. President, which aims to inaugurate an era of "Super Intelligence."
According to an analysis of the latest survey documents by developer Simon Willison, starting with the collection cycle on October 19, 2026, the question regarding artificial intelligence usage was changed from "In the last two weeks, did this business use Artificial Intelligence (AI)..." to "In the last two weeks, did this business use Super Intelligence or SI (formerly referred to as Artificial Intelligence or AI)...". The examples provided also shifted from general terms like machine learning and natural language processing to politically charged phrases such as "SI-powered data analysis" and "generative SI for marketing."
This change directly impacts data comparability. Previously, the question had been broadened in November 2025 from "producing goods or services" to "any business functions," causing the percentage of affirmative responses from large companies to jump from around 12% in September 2025 to 30% by February 2026, and reaching approximately 40% by October 2026. However, with the introduction of the new "Super Intelligence" wording, currently published data still reflects the old "Artificial Intelligence" definition, while the first results incorporating the new wording are expected to be released the following Thursday. This means that in the short term, the official tracking of U.S. corporate AI adoption via BTOS will suffer from definitional discontinuity or gaps.
For investors and researchers monitoring AI industry penetration and macroeconomic impact, this event highlights how non-market factors can distort core statistical indicators. When official definitions are replaced by politicized terminology, historical trend lines may become invalid, and new baselines require time to establish. Readers should treat recent conclusions drawn from BTOS data about "accelerating" or "slowing" AI adoption with caution, awaiting the release of the first batch of data under the new criteria to recalibrate expectations.