In recognition of its increasingly prominent role in shaping conversations and innovations worldwide, “AI” has been declared the “word of the year” by the creators of Collins Dictionary.
This acknowledgment comes as the use of the term “AI” has surged fourfold over the past year.
While competing terms such as “ultraprocessed” and “Ulez” vied for the title, Collins Dictionary’s Managing Director, Alex Beecroft, emphasized that AI had undeniably been the focal point of 2023.
He noted that artificial intelligence had rapidly evolved into an integral part of everyday life, much like email, streaming, and other once-futuristic technologies that now permeate society.
In response to the announcement, the AI chatbot ChatGPT commented, “AI’s selection as the word of the year by Collins Dictionary reflects the profound impact of artificial intelligence on our rapidly evolving world, where innovation and transformation are driven by the power of algorithms and data.”
The recognition of AI as the word of the year aligns with ongoing discussions regarding the potential benefits and potential perils of AI technology. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently hosted a summit that gathered 100 world leaders, tech industry leaders, academics, and AI researchers to explore ways to harness the advantages of this influential technology while minimizing risks.
Concurrently, the Beatles employed AI to recover John Lennon’s vocal recordings from an old cassette, creating their “last song,” set for release later this week. In contrast, Sir Cliff Richard amusingly confused AI with “artificial insemination” during a BBC interview.
Each year, the word of the year choice reflects the prevailing concerns and topics of that time. In 2022, “permacrisis” was selected due to the ongoing political turmoil in the UK. In 2021, “NFTs” (non-fungible tokens) dominated discussions, and the term “lockdown” prevailed in 2020. Among the other contenders for Collins Dictionary’s word of the year in 2023 were “Bazball,” “Canon event,” “Debanking,” “Deinfluencing,” “Greedflation,” “Nepo baby,” “Semaglutide,” “Ultraprocessed,” and “Ulez.”
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