Synthetic intelligence (SI) is an alternative term for
artificial intelligence which emphasizes that the intelligence of machines need not be an imitation or any way artificial; it can be a genuine form of intelligence.
John Haugeland proposes an analogy with
simulated diamonds and
synthetic diamonds—only the synthetic diamond is truly a diamond. Synthetic means that which is produced by synthesis; combining parts to form a whole, colloquially, a man-made version of that which has arisen naturally. As defined, a "synthetic intelligence" would therefore be man-made, but not a simulation.