Opaque recurrence, and other AI terms that you should probably know
techcrunch ·
TechCrunch has published a glossary of common AI terms to help readers decipher the fast-evolving vocabulary in the field. The article opens with the observation that AI is creating new language, such as 'opaque recurrence,' and aims to offer plain-English definitions. It covers terms like AGI, noting that experts disagree on its definition; AI agents, which perform multistep tasks autonomously; and API endpoints, which allow software to interact programmatically. Other entries explain chain-of-thought reasoning, coding agents, compute, deep learning, diffusion, distillation, fine-tuning, GANs, hallucination, inference, large language models, memory cache, and Model Context Protocol (MCP). The definitions highlight both technical mechanisms and practical concerns, such as the problem of AI hallucinations and how distillation can present competitive or policy issues. The piece positions itself as a living reference that will be updated as AI advances.
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