The act of naming is more than just a simple labeling exercise; it's a potent exercise of power with political implications. As the discourse around AI intensifies, it may be time to reassess its nomenclature and inherent biases, writes David Gunkel.

Naming is anything but a nominal operation. Nowhere is this more evident and clearly on display than in recent debates about the moniker “artificial intelligence” (AI). Right now, in fact, it appears that AI—the technology and the scientific discipline that concerns this technology—is going through a kind of identity crisis, as leading voices in the field are beginning to ask whether the name is (and maybe already was) a misnomer and a significant obstacle to accurate understanding. “As a computer scientist,” Jaron Lanier recently wrote in a piece for The New Yorker, “I don’t like the term A.I. In fact, I think it’s misleading—maybe even a little dangerous.”

What’s in a Name?