AI is the word of the year according to the Collins dictionary. What other words were named popular?
The British Collins Dictionary named AIthe word of the year 2023. This is stated in a message on the dictionary’s website.
“The revolutionary AI-powered language model burst into the public consciousness in late 2022, wowing us with its ability to mimic natural human speech. It could do much more than that, actually…” the statement says.
It also added that while people were fascinated by the technology, they were also starting to get a little worried. Collins defines AI as “the modeling of human mental functions using computer programs.”
“This rather captures the profound nature of challenge facing us. Can machines really become human-like? And how will that pan out for our species? Until we find out the answer to that question, though, life carries on.”
The list of popular words also includes:
- de-influencing – when one of these oracles uses their power “to warn followers to avoid certain commercial products, lifestyle choices, etc”;
- nepo baby – a label applied to someone “whose career is believed to have been advanced by having famous parents”;
- canon event – an experience “essential to the formation of an individual’s character or identity”;
- ultra-processed – cooking with the use of complex industrial methods;
- semaglutide – a drug that, among other things, suppresses appetite, which allows people to lose weight;
- ULEZ – the acronym for ultra-low emission zone;
- Greedflation – using inflation to raise prices to increase profits;
- Debanking – closing people’s bank accounts;
- Bazball – an energetic form of cricket.