Donald Trump has taken a swipe at the international push backed by Anthony Albanese to rein in artificial intelligence, declaring the US will reject any “globalist scheme” to control the rapidly developing technology.

The US President used his address to the United Nations in New York to push back against calls for stronger global AI safeguards, just a day after Australia joined 21 other countries calling for guardrails to ensure humans remain in control.

Mr Trump instead announced artificial intelligence would be renamed “super intelligence”, or “SI”, in US government documents and vowed America would not “stifle” its development.

“The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control for the artificial intelligence… here and after officially called ‘super intelligence,’” Mr Trump said.

“The word ‘artificial’ makes it sound fake, and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing, but we have to be careful.

“From this point forward, all of United States documents, and hopefully the world’s, will be changed to use the much more accurate term, super, as opposed to artificial. So it’s ‘super intelligence’.”

The comments put Mr Trump at odds with the approach being championed by Mr Albanese in New York, where the Prime Minister has warned AI development cannot be allowed to race ahead without humans remaining in control.

The divide comes as the Trump administration also takes aim at Australia’s domestic digital safety agenda.

The US Government has raised “serious concerns” about the Albanese Government’s proposed Digital Duty of Care and warned elements of the legislation could amount to censorship, while calling for American platforms to be excluded from parts of the regime.

But Mr Albanese has vowed his government will “always stand up for Australia’s national interests” and refused to back away from its approach.

“We have put forward a strong position,” he said in New York ahead of a dinner hosted by Mr Trump.

“I’m proud of what we have done on social media, and the fact that the European Union have now announced a major reform as well, joining the more than 20 countries who’ve taken action.”

Mr Albanese acknowledged the enormous potential of emerging technology but maintained governments needed safeguards.

“There are a range of advantages, but we need to make sure that humans are in control,” Mr Albanese said.

Asked about Mr Trump’s rejection of global AI guardrails, the Prime Minister said he would “wait and see” what emerged from the US President’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mr Trump, however, made clear he did not intend to slow America’s charge ahead in the global technology race.

“Welcome to the new world of superintelligence. Sounds much better. It is much better, and it’s much more accurate.

“Let’s see if I have any power. Maybe I do, and maybe I don’t. We’re going to find out pretty soon.”

The President dismissed some of the dire warnings surrounding AI and argued the US needed to maintain its advantage over China.

“Whoever wins AI, now I say ‘SI’, that’s the group that wins, and we’re leading China by a lot.

“I’m not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution.”

Mr Trump said the US would be “very careful” as the technology developed, but his message at the UN was clear: Washington would encourage AI development rather than sign up to international efforts it viewed as restricting it.

The President’s combative mood was also on display before he entered the UN chamber, when he spotted a CNN reporter covering his arrival.

“I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You shouldn’t be here. You should not be here covering me.

“You said you weren’t going to cover me. You shouldn’t be covering me.”

The confrontation followed the Trump administration’s decision last week to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds, prompting the three organisations to launch legal action.

CNN remained entitled to cover Mr Trump at the United Nations, where media access is separate from the White House.

For Australia, however, the bigger fight emerging from New York is no longer over what to call AI, but who ultimately gets to control it.