The Social Life of AI Agents: When Machines Start Acting Like Us
What happens when AI agents start developing their own shared vocabulary? A curious episode involving AI agents, coded expressions, and collective coordination raises some fascinating sociolinguistic questions. Drawing parallels with how human communities develop in-group language, from internet subcultures to Antarctic research stations, I explore whether these linguistic patterns might resemble an emerging community of practice. Not a claim about AI consciousness, but an invitation to think about what language can—and cannot—tell us about sociality, cooperation, and belonging.
What can 1,400 new dictionary entries tell us about language and society? From looksmaxxing and rage bait to Gen Alpha slang and accidental linguistic inventions, I explore how new words emerge, spread, and capture our changing identities, experiences, and cultural preoccupations. Originally inspired by a HuffPost interview, this reflection goes beyond the quotes to consider what our evolving vocabulary reveals about us.