Each year, linguists from all over the world determine the "word of the year", which reflects key trends and changes in the social use of language. In 2023, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word "hallucinate" was the choice, which means "hallucinating".
This choice may seem unexpected, but a new definition of a word is not only related to a traditional understanding of hallucinations. Hallucinate has now assumed a new meaning that has become relevant due to the development of artificial intelligence.
Usually "hallucinating" is understood as a state of feeling of something that does not really exist. Hallucinations can be caused by narcotic drugs or health. However, with the advent of artificial intelligence, "Hallucinate" has received a new, figurative value.
Today, in the English -language environment, Hallucinate is used to indicate situations where computer systems produce untrue information. The new meaning of the word arose from increased interest in the use of artificial intelligence.
Wendalin Nikos, the manager of the Cambridge Dictionary, explained that the chosen word reflects the need for critical thinking. It reminds that artificial intelligence cannot be trusted because it can "hallucinate", that is, provide incorrect information through incorrectly set search parameters.
Dr. Henry Shevlin from the University of Cambridge added that we have long been living in the world of fake news, rumors and propaganda, but "Hallucinate" indicates when the hallucin is the artificial intelligence itself, not the user of the system.
The new definition of the word appeared on the background of an spike in interest to artificial intelligence tools, such as Chatgpt, Bard and Grok used for processing and generating text.
