AP Stylebook bans saying AI 'thinks'; Dean Ball pushes back hard
ZeroStateReflex · x · 2026-09-25
The AP Stylebook now instructs writers that AI systems do not think, feel, want, or understand, and to avoid anthropomorphic language in favor of describing what a system does, how well it performs, and who built and is affected by it.
Dean Ball quoted the guidance and pushed back: while evidence for "feel" or "want" may be thin, AIs clearly think and understand — if your definition of thinking excludes entities that can autonomously resolve Millennium Problems, the definition is flawed. He argues the drive to avoid anthropomorphism has become a pathology.
Related event: AP Stylebook Bans Anthropomorphizing AI, Drawing Widespread Backlash(13 posts)→
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