Collins Dictionary has named AI the word of the year in 2023, following its entry into the public consciousness back in November 2022 when ChatGPT was first released.
Collins states that AI has created a previously unthinkable debate around computing, defining the technology as the “modelling of human mental functions” alongside machines. In its impressive ability to mimic human language, Collins states that AI has redefined the barriers of consciousness in technology within the general public. Can machines really be human-like, asks Collins, and if so, how will that affect the future of humankind?
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One distinction between AI and the runner-up words for Collins’ choice is longevity.
The other possible words of the year, such as “nepo baby” and “canon event”, were all references to recent media trends. Whilst the 2022 release of ChatGPT put AI in the lexicon of even the most tech illiterate of people, AI or machine learning has been around in universities and computer labs since the early 1960s.
AI has consistently been cited as the most disruptive technology by businesses in GlobalData tech sentiment surveys since 2021, a year before ChatGPT’s release.
Generative AI’s ability to mimic human language could threaten the job security of thousands of clerical workers worldwide, whilst its development has also created a large underclass of AI raters and data taggers facing unthinkable workloads with low pay and no benefits. Writers and actors in Hollywood also took to the picket line this year, fearing replacement from AI.
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By GlobalDataOut of all the advanced technologies tracked by research analyst GlobalData, generative AI was described as the fastest developing, meaning that jobs once thought safe from automation could soon be taken over by AI.
Between 2019 and 2030, GlobalData estimates the total AI market will grow from $53bn to w$984bn, disrupting almost every industry worldwide likening AI to a fourth industrial revolution.
Collins’ announcement also coincided with the first day of the UK’s AI Safety Summit that brought together world leaders to discuss AI ethics and governance. In its opening keynote speech, the UK’s Kind Charles III likened AI’s emergence to the discovery of fire.
“We are witnessing one of the greatest technological leaps in the history of human endeavour,” he stated.
According to GlobalData’s social media analytics, over a million social media posts have been made on the topic of AI in the last year. As the world watches the UK’s Safety Summit, Collins’ choice seems prophetic of the world to come as well as reflective of the year marked by ChatGPT’s release.
