In light of the increasing public fascination surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and its capabilities, the Cambridge Dictionary has designated ‘hallucinate’ as its Word of the Year for 2023. Traditionally associated with perceiving nonexistent things, this term has gained renewed significance within the realm of AI, particularly with the rise of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Grok. The decision to shine a spotlight on “hallucinate” was justified by the Cambridge Dictionary team, who stated:
“The widespread usage of ‘hallucinate’ to describe errors made by systems like ChatGPT provides a captivating insight into how we conceptualize and humanize AI. LLMs skillfully construct plausible prose, often presenting false, misleading, or entirely fabricated ‘facts.’ They ‘hallucinate’ with confidence, sometimes creating a deceptive sense of believability.”
To accommodate this AI-related usage, the dictionary has revised the definition of “hallucinate” as follows:
“(of an AI system or its output) to produce or display false or misleading information, especially in a way that is unexpected or surprising.”
On the other hand, Oxford Dictionaries has chosen ‘Metaverse’ or ‘Goblin mode’ as their Word of the Year. Defined as a virtual world that extends reality, “metaverse” and “goblin mode,” representing a state of disheveled appearance or social unattractiveness, were considered.
Meanwhile, other dictionaries have also announced their selections for Word of the Year.
Merriam-Webster: “Gaslighting” or “Quiet quitting.” Defined as psychological manipulation that instills doubt in the mind of a victim, “gaslighting” and “quiet quitting,” which signifies mentally disengaging from a job while still working, were contenders.
Collins Dictionary named “Permacrisis” or “NFT” as their words of the year. Defined as a state of perpetual anxiety, “permacrisis” and “NFT” (non-fungible token) representing unique digital assets were in contention.
These choices by various dictionaries underscore the increasing impact of technologies in the real world.
