What’s in a word? The short answer is an awful lot. There are wars of words but it is also true that words caused real wars. We fashion words but words fashion us in return. The words we use define us.

In more sense than one we become the words we use. Words are culture bound but in a globalised world, which is hyperconnected by internet-based communication platforms, it is to be expected that many words are also globalised.

That’s the reason why the end-of-year custom of choosing the words that defined a particular year is an important one. In the words of the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary such words “reflect the mood, ethos, or preoccupations of the year”.

It should come as no surprise that Collins Dictionary chose ‘AI’ as the word of the year 2023. Malta is no exception. Intelliġenza artifiċjali tops the list of 2023 words compiled by Times of Malta and Prof. Michael Spagnol. AI, after all, is all around us, guiding and watching every step we take while also transforming our language.

‘Hallucinate’, the choice made by the Cambridge Dictionary, is an example. It may sound innocent enough as humans have been hallucinating since the time of Adam and Eve. But the choice made by the Cambridge Dictionary is not so straightforward. Their choice indicated the tendency being made today of attributing to AI technology human qualities.

Dr Henry Shevlin, an AI ethicist at the University of Cambridge, notes that:

“This linguistic choice reflects a subtle yet profound shift in perception: the AI, not the user, is the one ‘hallucinating’. While this doesn’t suggest a widespread belief in AI sentience, it underscores our readiness to ascribe human-like attributes to AI.”

We have moved from using metaphors that attributed to humans the qualities of machines – for example, ‘he is as punctual as a Swiss watch’ – to attributing to machines the qualities of humans, for example, ‘Computers hallucinate, that is they produce false information’.

A new world and probably a new humanity is on the rise. Optimists tend to predict that this new world will be a more humane world. Technophobes, on the other hand, warn us that the future will enact Huxley’s brave new world wherein advanced technology could take over and humans could lose their humanity.

Pope Francis, in his Peace Message January 1, 2024, praised the “impressive achievements of science and technology” while insisting that AI risks causing a “technological dictatorship” unless it remains human-centred, ethically grounded and directed toward the good.

Despite the fact that the AI dominated world has ushered in a qualitative new stage in the present era of hyperconnectivity, I would opt for the inclusion of ‘loneliness’ along the 2023 word of the year. This is because loneliness is an unfortunate characteristic of our hyperconnected world, so much so that, last November, WHO declared loneliness as a “global public health concern”.

Malta is unfortunately part of this dark trend. A study by the Faculty of Social Well-being, University of Malta found that 55 per cent of the Maltese feel alone. People who operate the telephone help lines say that the number of callers bothered by loneliness is increasing. A worse statistic is the rise in the number of suicides. Isn’t it sad that suwiċidali is the fifth in the Malta list of 2023 words?

In a country with a healthy economy, soup kitchens are not acceptable- Fr Joe Borg

It seems that the more we are connected the more we are alone. Finding the reason why is of essence for the future of humanity. 

The second word on the Malta list reveals the type of country we are living in. While the Chinese have to wait for 2031 to celebrate the Year of the Pig, Malta pronounced it officially in 2023. Probably you guessed it. Tħanżir is the word. It had to be a revealed chat between former Labour cabinet member and MP Rosianne Cutajar that so clearly described the current state of our country: kulħadd jitħanżer (everyone pigs out).

This institutionalised pigging out means that the few are immorally benefitting at the expense of the many. Public money is squandered by the anointed cabal while many have to beg for what should rightfully be theirs. Had it not been for the charity telethons that have become the staple of local television productions, the plight of many would be harder.

To understand the state of the country, the words ‘soup kitchen’ should be added to the Malta list of 2023 words.

Up to a few years ago, soup kitchens were something that we read about in foreign papers or watched on foreign television stations. Today, the number of soup kitchens catering to those who find it hard to put food on their tables is on the increase.

The Franciscans run a soup kitchen in Valletta, another one operates in Dar Papa Franġisku, in Fleur-de-Lys, the Love Kitchen is managed by the Millennium chapel, in Paceville, Fundazzjoni Familji fil-Bżonn operates one in Paola and Rifettorju tal-Kċina ta’ Marta welcomes the needy and the lonely in Balzan. Besides, many parishes regularly distribute hampers to needy families.

In a country with a healthy economy, this is not acceptable.

We do live in a world replete with contradictions and injustice. The existence of deep fakes and spin make it difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false.

All this is depressive.

However, it is important to note that the human spirit is never defeated. It always learns for what ennobles and enhances it.

In fact, the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary word of the year is ‘authentic’.

That’s why hope springs eternal and, I dare say, invincible.