Krishnamenan Rasenthira

“Artificial intelligence” has had a few years in the limelight and served to attract attention or funding when put to use as a label for research or a business, or on the cover of a magazine. But it is not a useful term for precise communication or as the basis for legislation. Its adaptation to other semantic forms is at best meaningless and at worst grating: “artificially intelligent”, “an AI”, “AI marketplace”, “AI supplier”. It is best reserved for its originators’ intended purpose – so doing a PhD in AI is just fine, but it should be dropped in all other situations. Writers and lawmakers will just have to do a bit more thinking about what they actually mean.