Listen to the author reading this blog post:
Today, the Cambridge Dictionary announces its Word of the Year for 2023: hallucinate. You might already be familiar with this word, which we use to talk about seeing, hearing, or feeling things that don’t really exist. But did you know that it has a new meaning when it’s used in the context of artificial intelligence? Continue reading “Understanding AI jargon: Artificial intelligence vocabulary”
AGI noun [U]
/ˌeɪ.dʒiːˈaɪ/
ABBREVIATION FOR artificial general intelligence: a type of artificial intelligence that some people believe will be developed in the future, with the ability to learn to solve any kind of problem as well as, or better than, a human being
He defines AGI as AI systems that can solve any cognitive or human task in ways that are not limited to how they are trained. In theory, AGI, he says, can help scientists develop cures for diseases, discover new forms of renewable energy, and help “solve some of humanity’s greatest mysteries.”
[businessinsider.com, 27 May 2023]
See also artificial intelligence
Poltergeist attack noun [C]
UK /ˈpɒl.tə.ɡaɪst əˌtæk/ US / ˈpoʊl.t̬ɚ.ɡaɪst əˌtæk/
a way of using high-frequency sounds to cause the machine learning algorithms used by self-driving cars to make mistakes in identifying people, objects and other vehicles, which could cause accidents
Poltergeist attacks diverge from traditional cyber threats, such as hacking or jamming. They create deceptive visual realities, similar to optical illusions, for machines employing machine learning for decision-making processes.
[techtimes.com, 26 September 2023]
superalignment noun [U]
UK /ˌsuː.pə.rəˈlaɪn.mənt/ US /ˌsuː.pɚ.əˈlaɪn.mənt/
the study of how to control superintelligent AIs that may be built in the future so that they act in ways that are useful and not harmful to human beings
OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and head of alignment Jan Leike wrote a blog post on the concept of superalignment, suggesting that the power of a superintelligent AI could lead to the disempowerment of humanity or even human extinction. “Currently, we don’t have a solution for steering or controlling a potentially superintelligent AI, and preventing it from going rogue,” the pair wrote.
[techmonitor.ai, 6 July 2023]
ground verb [T]
/ɡraʊnd/
to give an AI model facts about the real world so that it will produce information that is more accurate and useful
As we start to see more applications built upon foundational AI models — we will also see an increase in the use of external datasets, articles, networks and databases to “ground” the model to factual data and relevant user context.
[medium.com, March 2022]
ghost work noun [U]
UK /ˈɡəʊst ˌwɜːk/ US /ˈɡoʊst ˌwɝːk/
work done by a human being, usually online and for low pay, to do a task that most people believe is done automatically by a computer
“Ghost work” is anthropologist Mary L. Gray’s term for the invisible labor that powers our technology platforms. When Gray, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research, first arrived at the company, she learned that building artificial intelligence requires people to manage and clean up data to feed to the training algorithms.
[theverge.com, 13 May 2019]
voice cloning noun [U]
UK /ˈvɔɪs ˌkləʊ.nɪŋ/ US /ˈvɔɪs ˌkloʊ.nɪŋ/
the use of artificial intelligence to make recordings that sound like the voice of a specific person
… it looks like the system harnesses the power of voice cloning, which has grown in popularity in recent years. The technology works by taking samples of your voice; a computer model is then trained to generate speech in your voice based on whatever text input it applied.
[ukpcmag.com, 25 September 2023]
RLHF noun [U]
/ˌɑː.rel.eɪtʃˈef/
ABBREVIATION FOR reinforcement learning from human feedback: a technique that improves the performance of an AI by getting human beings to provide information about how good the results it currently produces are
Reinforcement Learning From Human Feedback (RLHF) is an advanced approach to training AI systems that combines reinforcement learning with human feedback. It is a way to create a more robust learning process by incorporating the wisdom and experience of human trainers in the model training process.
[unite.ai, 29 March 2023]
September Surge noun [C]
UK /sepˌtem.bə ˈsɜːdʒ/ US /sepˌtem.bɚ ˈsɝːdʒ/
an increase in job vacancies that is said to happen in September every year
Dust off your resume, rewrite your cover letters and start posting on LinkedIn. That’s the advice we’re hearing for recruiters as we head into the fall and enter the “September Surge,” a time when it might be easier to land a job. But we know 2023 has been full of layoffs and economic uncertainty. So will the fall be any different? Is the September Surge real?
[worklife.news, 28 August 2023]
burn-on noun [U]
UK /ˈbɜːn.ɒn/ US /ˈbɝːn.ɑːn/
a feeling of stress and exhaustion experienced by someone who has been working too hard for a long period but continues to be good at their job and appears to be enjoying it
Feeling overworked but not yet burned out? Often the problem is “burn-on,” an under-researched phenomenon whose sufferers desperately struggle to keep up and meet their own expectations — with dangerous consequences for their health … While those suffering from burn-out come to the clinic having already been brought to a standstill by depression, people with burn-on have often worked late into the night the evening before.
[worldcrunch.com, 3 December 2022]
See also burn-out
loud labourer noun [C]
UK /ˌlaʊd ˈleɪ.bᵊr.əʳ/ US /ˌlaʊd ˈleɪ.bɚ.ɚ/
someone who likes to tell colleagues about how busy and successful they are at work, when often this is not actually the case
It’s highly likely that at some point in your career, you’ve encountered a “loud labourer”. These are the people who love to toot their own horn. They’re constantly banging on about all the great stuff they’ve done … so much so that they hardly have time to actually complete their work. But that doesn’t matter, because to a loud labourer, work is not about productivity, but the appearance of it.
[worklife.news, 28 August 2023]
sad beige adjective
/ˌsæd ˈbeɪʒ/
a way of describing the trend of dressing babies and young children in pale brown and other neutral shades because these colours are thought by the parents to be more tasteful and stylish than bright colours
What is “sad beige,” and why do some parents love it so much? The muted palette is hot now: influencers’ Instagram grids are full of photos of children wearing shades ranging from ivory to tan. There’s even a backlash against the so-called “sad beige” trend from people who believe children need a little more color in their lives.
[today.com, 18 January 2023]
traumedy noun [U]
UK /ˈtrɔː.m.ə.di/ US / ˈtrɑː.mə.di/
a type of comedy that involves someone talking about past traumatic events in their life in a funny way
Standup has certainly taken a sharp turn towards inner trauma in recent years, giving rise to the dismissive portmanteau term “traumedy” to describe the comedic habit of processing disturbing experiences live on stage. And the 2023 Edinburgh fringe now looks like the peak of the trend.
[theguardian.com, 20 August 2023]
crying make-up noun [U]
/ˈkraɪ.ɪŋ ˌmeɪk.ʌp/
a style of make-up that makes the wearer look as though they are, or have recently been, crying
“Crying make-up” is taking over TikTok, but has the “sad girl aesthetic” finally gone too far? Noor Mubarak, a psychological wellbeing practitioner, agrees that the crying make-up trend can be problematic. “For those who are struggling with feelings of despair and tearfulness, it can feel trivialising to see people trying to look like they are struggling for aesthetic purposes.”
[glamourmagazine.co.uk, 28 October 2022]
screen apnoea noun [U]
/ˈskriːn ˌæp.ni.ə/
the situation where someone stops breathing properly when they are looking at the screen of their mobile phone or similar device
The lack of movement that comes from sitting in front of a screen might also be a contributor to screen apnoea, says Dr David Spiegel. Disrupted breathing is the result of “a combination of not just what you’re doing but what you’re not doing,” he says, adding that he noticed screen apnoea among patients who worked high-stress jobs for long hours without getting much exercise or sleep.
[smh.com.au, 29 August 2023]
See also sleep apnoea
soft troll noun [C]
UK /ˌsɒft ˈtrəʊl/ US /ˌsɑːft ˈtroʊl/
a person who criticizes or makes nasty comments about someone on the internet but only to other people and not directly to the person in question
Have you ever hate-followed fake friends or acquaintances, revelled in online spats or screenshotted someone’s post to bitch about in your group chat? You could be a soft troll.
[stylist.co.uk, 28 August 2023]
See also troll
rage farming noun [U]
UK /ˈreɪdʒ ˌfɑː.mɪŋ/ US /ˈreɪdʒ ˌfɑːr.mɪŋ/
the activity of posting content on social media that aims to make the reader angry and then share the content with other users
A term which has recently entered common parlance is “rage farming” – a manipulative tactic by bloggers or journalists to elicit outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic, online engagement, revenue and support. Imagine that one individual who, when they appear on your timeline or tv screen, creates an instantaneous feeling of deep, unbridled anger. It seems this reaction is not just unproblematic for such individuals but eminently desirable.
[sluggerotoole.com, 18 January 2023]
beige flag noun [C]
/ˌbeɪʒ ˈflæg/
a sign that someone you have started a romantic relationship with is a little strange or boring but not enough for you to end the relationship
According to the TikTok users who have latched on to the term in the past month, a beige flag is an odd trait in a romantic prospect that is not quite a deal breaker, but not exactly a plus, either. As one user put it, a beige flag makes a potential partner or a partner pause and say “Huh?” for a few seconds before carrying on with the relationship.
[nytimes.com, 7 June 2023]
See also red flag
ghostlighting noun [U]
UK /ˈgəʊst.laɪ.tɪŋ/ US /ˈgoʊst.laɪ.t̬ɪŋ/
the act of ending a relationship with someone by suddenly stopping all communication with them, then trying to make them believe that this did not actually happen and they must have imagined it
Ghostlighting mixes together ghosting – which is where a potential love interest disappears without an explanation – with the more sinister gaslighting, which is an emotional abuse or manipulation tool where a person purposefully tries to twist information to make their partner feel as though they are in the wrong.
[www.mirror.co.uk, 25 June 2023]
See also ghosting, gaslighting
groundhogging noun [U]
UK /ˈgraʊnd.hɒg.ɪŋ/ US /ˈgraʊnd.hɑːg.ɪŋ/
the act of dating the same type of person again and again, even though it never ends in a successful relationship
In dating, groundhogging means you date the same person repeatedly, which never works out for you. Think back on your relationships. Do they all tend to start and end the same way? Do your past significant others have a lot in common? If you answered yes, groundhogging could very well be to blame for your relationship woes.
[marriage.com, 14 March 2023]
See also Groundhog Day
Those who have strong communication, organisational and interpersonal skills find they can adapt quickly to new roles and flourish in busy workplaces. For too long these qualities have been known as soft skills, but increasingly voices in the recruitment sphere are referring to them as power skills because of the impact they have on the workplace. [feweek.co.uk, 14 August 2023]
resenteeism noun [U] UK /re.zənˈtiː.ɪ.zᵊm/ US /re.zənˈtiː.ɪ.zᵊm/ staying in a job that makes you very unhappy because it provides security or you have no other job to go to
Unlike quiet quitting, where workers refuse to take on extra tasks, workers with resenteeism can’t help but have a moody, negative attitude. As Jason Lalljee notes, “What makes resenteeism different from normal 9-to-5 blues, in theory, is that you’re more open with your dissatisfaction at work.” I believe that if leaders don’t take action, resenteeism can spread among staff members, sabotaging team morale. [fastcompany.com, 21 April 2023]
See also presenteeismshift shock noun [C] UK /ˈʃɪft ˌʃɒk/ US /ˈʃɪft ˌʃɑːk/ a feeling of surprise and disappointment when you start a new job and discover that it, or the company, is not as good as you expected
Shift shock can come as a result of different working hours to the ones you thought you would have (perhaps you were told in your interview you’d “probably” be working 9-5, Monday to Friday, but were advised to be flexible to meet business needs… then you got started and learned you’d be working every weekend), having unexpected responsibilities on your to-do list or discovering that a company’s culture isn’t as lovely as it appeared. [stylist.co.uk, March 2023]
girl dinner noun [C]
UK /ˈgɜːl ˌdɪn.ər/ US /ˈgɝːl ˌdɪn.ɚ/
a simple meal a woman makes for herself, usually consisting of small amounts of different foods, none of which need preparation or cooking
You’re home by yourself and therefore can eat whatever you want for dinner, without having to consider the food preferences or nutrition needs of others. You grab a bag of popcorn, some bread, some cheese and a hunk of chocolate, and settle into the couch for a night of snacking and watching TV. Is there anything more glorious? Welcome to “girl dinner.”
[nytimes.com, 18 July 2023]
lazy girl job noun [C]
UK /ˈleɪ.zi gɜːl ˌdʒɒb/ US /ˈleɪ.zi gɝːl ˌdʒɑːb/
a job that is well paid, does not demand long hours or too much effort, and can often be done remotely
“A lazy girl job is basically something you can just quiet quit,” she says in the two-and-a-half minute video. “There’s lots of jobs out there where you could make, like, 60 to 80 K and not do that much work and be remote.” As an example, she zeroes in on non-technical roles, where she feels the hours fall within a 9-to-5 schedule, and believes the pay is enough to allow for some financial freedom.
[www.bbc.com, 26 July 2023]
tomato girl noun [C]
UK /təˈmɑː.təʊ ˌgɜːl/ US / təˈmeɪ.t̬oʊ ˌgɝːl/
a style for young women based on looking healthy, relaxed and typically feminine, said to be inspired by how they would dress and behave when on holiday in a sunny Mediterranean country
Contrary to the name, being a tomato girl has nothing to do with enjoying the fruit or tomato sauce, but instead centers around everything that could come to mind when thinking of tomatoes: lounging in the Italian summer weather, drinking spritz cocktails and also wearing breezy outfits that incorporate a red-themed color palette.
[wwd.com, 29 June 2023]
bucket budgeting noun [U]
/ˈbʌk.ɪt ˌbʌdʒ.ɪtɪŋ/
a way of organizing your finances that involves saving money in a different bank account for each type of bill or purchase
“Bucket budgeting”, sometimes referred to as “bucketing”, is basically a modern version of “envelope budgeting”. The key difference between the two is that with bucket budgeting, instead of setting aside cash in envelopes for regular spending, you set up targeted savings accounts for various savings goals.
[gulfnews.com, 26 January 2022]
bougie broke adjective
UK /ˌbuː.ʒi ˈbrəʊk/ US /ˌbuː.ʒi ˈbroʊk/
not having as much money as you want, but still able to buy and do relatively expensive things (see bougie)
A new guide on embracing a “bougie broke” lifestyle — a personal finance trend crafted as a humorous yet critical response to the cost of living crisis — has stirred a cocktail of amusement and ridicule online. The “bougie broke” trend originated from TikTok, where users bemoaned about how broke they were while pursuing a luxury lifestyle.
[msn.com, 27 July 2023]
financial cleanse noun [C]
/faɪˌnæn.ʃəl ˈklenz/
a detailed examination of your finances to identify ways of saving money and spending less
Self-styled financial influencers are giving Gen Zers some much-needed advice, touting a month-long “financial cleanse” as the ultimate way to whittle down spending in 2023. Seema Sheth, who coined the “30-day financial cleanse,” boasts her method as a way to cut down on unnecessary costs and ensure more money in your pockets this year.
[nypost.com, 3 January 2023]
haycation noun [C]
/heɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
a holiday spent on a farm, during which the guests sometimes help out with the farm work
Check out of the city life for a few days and check into a stay that’s raw, real, and rural. A haycation on a family-owned farm is good for the soul and a fast track to connecting with a more grounded way of life. Pack the car, pop on some hard-wearing denim, and spend a few nights at any one of these regional stays.
[www.australiasgoldenoutback.com, 15 February 2023]
trip lit noun [U]
/ˈtrɪp ˌlɪt/
a type of book whose story takes place in the city or country you are going to for your holiday
This summer, why not take a break with the most escapist “new” book trend – let’s call it “trip lit”. “Trip lit” per se is not a new concept for us, but nevertheless we are delighted to see that the idea of travelling by book is becoming much more mainstream and the pleasures of walking into new environments and wonderful settings are being appreciated.
[tripfiction.com, 4 August 2023]
gamma destination noun [C]
/ˌgæm.ə ˌdes.təˈneɪ.ʃᵊn/
a place to go on holiday that very few other people in the world go to
Over the next five years, high-net-worth explorers will increasingly be avoiding over-crowded “alpha destinations”. Even “beta destinations” such as Rwanda and Antarctica will start to become overly busy at certain times of year. As luxury travellers dream of even more extreme adventures, there is a greater opportunity to devise trips to emerging gamma destinations that offer an array of entirely new experiences.
[globetrender.com, 27 November 2022]
