AI Could Kill Our Vocabulary

AI could be the best thing to happen to language. Or its undoing. Ever noticed how AI-generated content feels… samey? That’s not your imagination.

Language isn't just how we communicate.

It's how we think!

If we’re not careful, AI might just steal your brain.

The Mechanics of AI-Generated Language

AI language models like ChatGPT, Copilot, Bard, are trained on mountains of human text. They mimic patterns, predict words, and optimise for engagement.

But AI doesn’t just borrow from the internet. It feeds it.

Very quickly, online content is becoming a cesspool of regurgitated AI generated mediocrity with limited editing and zero original thought. The more AI churns out, the more it reinforces the same phrases and ideas. A linguistic echo chamber.

Sweet.

AI sticks to safe zones. Common phrases. Predictable idioms.

Quirky, regional, creative language? Left behind. And that’s tragic. Language should be alive. Messy. Full of surprises.

Professional and academic writing aren’t immune. As industries lean on AI for reports and proposals, originality erodes. Slowly. A world of documents sounding like the same polite robot. Bland and homogenized.

No loss for legal contracts, but it will make many jobs much more boring.

What is that repetitive thinking style doing to our brains?

Won't someone think of the children!

The Gradual Loss of Linguistic Diversity

Imagine a world where language becomes flat. Narrow. Boring.

Yuck.

AI isn’t built for creativity. It can't actually create something new. All it can do is find patterns and repackage them.

Good for productivity perhaps. But bad for the soul.

Niche vocabulary? Words that make Shakespeare sparkle or regional dialects sing? AI doesn’t prioritize them. They slip into obscurity. Rare expressions vanish. The textured, vibrant beauty of human language fades.

This isn’t hypothetical. Linguistic diversity is already shrinking. Algorithms decide what gets read, shared, rewarded. AI amplifies this trend. Efficient, predictable language dominates. The poetic and eccentric? Edges further out of view.

Implications for Human Thought

If language shapes thought, what happens when language simplifies? We lose nuance. Depth. The ability to think in complex ways. A world ruled by AI-generated text pushes us toward surface-level thinking. Predictable ideas.

Repeated patterns.

What's a definition of insanity?

No seriously. Ask an AI language model this question. I just did. The response?

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

So how can we continue to innovative and move forward as a species if we risk getting stuck in the same old thought patterns? That's enough of a dilemma already without a closed system with diminishing new inputs.

Education suffers. Fewer tools to teach creativity or critical thinking. Politics devolves. Debate boiled down to algorithm-approved buzzwords. Even science loses precision as specialized vocabularies fade.

Language is thought’s architecture. When it narrows, so does what we can imagine. Discuss. Create. Shrinking words shrink minds. Shrink futures.

But Wait—It’s Not All Doom and Gloom

The best writers break rules. Hubert Selby Jr used slashes for apostrophes. Anthony Burgess built Nadsat for A Clockwork Orange. James Joyce bent grammar into art. Language thrives on rule-breaking. Reinvention.

AI could help. Forgotten words resurrected. Global linguistic styles revived. Creativity inspired. Humans love breaking rules, especially linguistic ones.

With diverse datasets, AI can be a tool for exploration. A quirky sidekick. Spitting out brilliance once in a while. Writers can use AI to push limits. Fight back against its patterns. Make something new.

But it will take a concerted effort in the training process of AI to make sure that newer content isn't over-emphasised for language itself. Current events is one thing, but we want to draw from older sources for how language is formed.

Don’t Let AI Steal Your Brain

AI is just a tool. It doesn’t think. It reflects its users. The real danger? Letting it do all the thinking for us. Google already flattened the internet into predictable top results. At least AI offers a chance to shake things up.

True democratization is possible. Imagine AI giving everyone—from a kid in rural India to a Brooklyn poet—a linguistic playground. The dream is access to knowledge and creativity for all.

Keep AI diverse. Transparent. Under human control. Use it to amplify potential, not replace it. When AI challenges us to think deeper and create wildly, we all win.

Final Thoughts

AI is changing our relationship with language. Fast. It’s exciting, but it’s risky. If we’re not careful, language could lose its soul. But the future is still ours to shape. Vibrant. Diverse. Human.

This isn’t just about words. It’s about expression and thought. Will we let AI dictate our linguistic future? Or will we steer it to enrich the world? Don’t let AI steal your brain. Use it to supercharge your creativity.

Keep the conversation going.

While we still have the words.