The abbreviation of artificial intelligence (AI) has been named the Collins Word of the Year 2023.
The dictionary said AI, which it said means the “modelling of human mental functions by computer programs”, has become the dominant conversation of 2023.
Text generator ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 and there has been much debate about the use of the technology.
Lexicographers at Collins Dictionary put AI at the top of the list after looking at media sources, including social content, because the term has “accelerated at such a fast pace”.
Alex Beecroft, managing director of Collins, said: “We know that AI has been a big focus this year in the way that it has developed and has quickly become as ubiquitous and embedded in our lives as email, streaming or any other once futuristic, now everyday technology.”
Other words on Collins list include “nepo baby”, which has become a popular phrase to describe the children of celebrities who have succeeded in industries similar to those of their parents, and “debanking” or depriving people of banking facilities
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage hit the headlines when he said his Coutts account had been shut down by NatWest Group because his political beliefs did not align with the bank.
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Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, and singer Noel Gallagher, the father of model Anais Gallagher, have both spoken about the nepo baby debate.
Gallagher told Radio X it is “human to help your children” while Curtis said after accepting a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once that people may “think, well, nepo baby”, but this is “amazing” personally.
Also on the list of key words is “ultraprocessed” or “ultra-processed” food and “semaglutide”, a medication used to control appetite.
Mr Beecroft also said: “The cost-of-living crisis is also inescapable, with words like greedflation rising sharply, shining a spotlight on corporates.
“Other words in the list have also provoked interesting conversations, particularly around people’s health, with ultra-processed coming into the attention of the media and semaglutide also making headlines.”
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The lexicographers at Collins Dictionary monitor their 18-billion-word database to create the annual list of new and notable words that reflect our ever-evolving language and the preoccupations of those who use it.
Last year they chose permacrisis, defined as “an extended period of instability and insecurity”, as word of the year.
