London:
The abbreviation for artificial intelligence (AI) has been named Collins Word of the Year for 2023, the dictionary publisher said Tuesday.
Lexicographers at Collins Dictionary said the term’s use had “accelerated” and it had become the dominant conversation of 2023.
“We know that AI has been a big focus this year in the way it has evolved and quickly become as ubiquitous and embedded in our lives as email, streaming or any other once futuristic, now mundane technology,” said Collins director Alex Beecroft. said.
Collins said his wordsmiths analyzed the Collins Corpus, a database containing more than 20 billion words of written material from websites, newspapers, magazines and books published around the world.
It also uses spoken material from radio, TV and everyday conversation, with new data being entered into the Corpus every month, to help Collins dictionary editors identify new words and meanings from the moment they are first used .
“The use of the word as monitored through our Collins Corpus is always interesting and there was no doubt that it was also the talking point of 2023,” said Beecroft.
Other words on Collins’ list include “nepo baby,” which has become a popular phrase to describe the children of celebrities who have achieved success in industries similar to those of their parents.
There was also mention of ‘Greedflation’, i.e. companies making a profit during the cost of living crisis, and ‘Ulez’, the ultra-low emission zone that punishes drivers of the most polluting cars in London.
Social media terms such as “de-influence” or “de-influence,” meaning “warning followers to avoid certain commercial products,” were also on Collins’ list.
During this summer’s Ashes series between England and Australia, many people were talking about a style of cricket called “Bazball”, according to Collins.
The term refers to New Zealand cricketer and coach Brendon McCullum, better known as Baz, who advocates a philosophy of relaxed minds, aggressive tactics and positive energy.
The word “permacrisis,” defined as “an extended period of instability and insecurity,” was the 2022 Collins Word of the Year.
In 2020 it was ‘lockdown’. In 2016 it was ‘Brexit’.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)