Wild WordAI Experience
hallucination
“When a model confidently outputs false or fabricated information as if it were fact.”
First Seen
2023
Context
Named Cambridge Dictionary's Word of the Year in 2023, hallucination describes AI outputs that sound authoritative but are factually wrong or entirely invented. The term borrows from psychology to capture how models can generate plausible-sounding falsehoods with complete confidence, from fabricated citations to nonexistent legal cases.
Citation
Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2023
2023
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucination_(artificial_intelligence)A wild word — documented from usage in the field, not coined by Xenolexica.
Understanding & Perception