Why it Matters that "Authentic" is Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year




I’m sure it came as little surprise to many that Merriam-Webster recently announced “authentic” as its annual “word of the year,” meaning it was a high-volume dictionary look-up and a concept that people were clearly thinking and writing about.
According to Merriam-Webster, authentic has a number of meanings, including “not false or imitation,” a synonym of real and actual; and also “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”
Building Trust in the Age of AI
Clearly, the rise of artificial intelligence drove interest in the word, and some of that was buttressed by celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Prince Harry promoting the importance of being their authentic selves.
“The rise of AI helped drive interest in the word,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s Editor at Large said in announcing the news . “The line between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ has become increasingly blurred. As a result, in social media and marketing, authentic has become the gold standard for building trust.”

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