The Cambridge Dictionary chose her “Illusion” as Word of the Year for 2023, one of many updates to the British dictionary this year related to artificial intelligence.

AI tools, especially those using large language models (also a new addition to the lexicon), produce potential results, but often use false information and so “hallucinate” in a seemingly believable manner. The Cambridge Dictionary has therefore updated its definition of ‘hallucination’ to explain the new meaning.

Beyond the “hallucination” entry, several additions reflect the rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence and IT, such as ‘large language model’ and ‘GenAI’ (Generation of Artificial Intelligence).

Wendalyn Nicholls, editor of the Cambridge Dictionary said: “The fact that AIs can ‘hallucinate’ reminds us that humans they still need to possess critical thinking skills in using these tools. AIs are fantastic at processing massive amounts of data to extract specific information and consolidate it. But the more original you ask them to be, the more likely they are to be wrong.”

“At their best, large language models [LLMs] they can to be as reliable as their training data. Human expertise is arguably more important – and in demand – than ever before in creating the valid and up-to-date information on which LLMs can be trained.”

Cambridge Dictionary lexicographers said the new definition illustrates a growing trend to anthropomorphize AI technology, using human-like metaphors for machines to speak, write and think.

Dr Henry Selwyn, an ethical AI technician at the University of Cambridge, said: “The widespread use of the term ‘hallucinations’ to refer to errors by systems like ChatGPT provide a fascinating insight of how we think about and “anthropomorphize” artificial intelligence. Inaccurate or misleading information has long been with us of course, in the form of rumours, propaganda or ‘fake news’.

Many other words generated public interest and searches on the Cambridge Dictionary website. They included, among others, the word ‘implosion’, and ‘GOAT’, an abbreviation of ‘Greatest Of All Time’.

The traditional/conventional definition of hallucination is the sensory ability to perceive an existing stimulus by the human brain, which, depending on the way it is organized, is interpreted and perceived by it, it seems not real. The effect of hallucinations starts from the stimulus in the neural arc of the brain and ends up in the experience, after various stages of processing in different parts of the brain.

Cambridge lexicographers added more than 6,000 new words, phrases and “feelings” in 2023 in the Cambridge Dictionary which it already contains over 170,000 English etymologies/definitions.