The Cambridge Dictionary has named “hallucinate” as its Word of the Year for 2023, expanding its definition to include the phenomenon of AI generating false information. This reflects the increasing prominence of AI in our lives and the cultural changes accompanying it. The reliability of AI-generated outputs remains under scrutiny, with instances of AI errors causing embarrassment or misleading information. Adding terms like “prompt engineering,” “large language model,” and “black box” to the dictionary shows how language evolves with emerging technological themes and trends.
Cambridge Dictionary Announces AI-Related “Word of the Year”
The Cambridge Dictionary has chosen “hallucinate” as its Word of the Year for 2023, with a new meaning connected to AI. This term now includes the phenomenon of AI generating false information, similar to sensory experiences of nonexistent things.
Generative AI users, such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Grok, are already familiar with hallucinations. These occur when the AI model tries to predict something that isn’t factual or truthful to fill in gaps in its knowledge.
The added definition of hallucinations highlights the increasing role of AI in our lives and the cultural changes that come with it. However, the reliability of AI-generated outputs remains under scrutiny, as they can sometimes produce inaccurate or nonsensical information.
There have been cases of people relying on AI without verifying its output, only for it to later be revealed as a hallucination. For example, a lawyer included fabricated cases in a legal brief submitted on behalf of a plaintiff, and Google’s AI chatbot Bard made a factual error during a live demonstration.
It is crucial to have human oversight when using AI. While AIs excel at processing large amounts of data, they are more likely to go astray when asked to be original. Critical thinking skills are still essential in using these tools effectively.
The fact that we have assigned a definition related to human experiences to AI in “hallucinations” is linguistically intriguing. It shows how we anthropomorphize AI technology to understand it through our own human experiences.
In addition to “hallucinate,” the Cambridge Dictionary has added other AI and tech-related terms such as prompt engineering, large language model (LLM), genAI, train, and black box.
These additions demonstrate how modern language evolves around emerging technological themes and trends, a phenomenon that has been occurring for decades.
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