The year 2025 has been defined by artificial intelligence’s pervasive impact on work, culture, and society, according to major dictionaries and platforms that released their words of the year in December. Multiple selections directly reference AI technology and its effects on workers and content creation.
Collins Dictionary chose ‘vibe coding’ as its word of the year, a term coined by prominent AI researcher Andrej Karpathy. Vibe coding refers to using natural language prompts to instruct AI to write computer code instead of writing it manually. This reflects a fundamental shift in how software development works, with OpenAI’s annual enterprise report showing that code-related queries increased 36% among workers whose primary job isn’t engineering. Companies like Anthropic reported that its AI assistant Claude now writes 90% of code for its teams, demonstrating AI’s rapid integration into technical workflows.
Macquarie Dictionary in Australia selected ‘AI slop’ as its top word, highlighting growing concerns over low-quality content created by generative AI that often contains errors and wasn’t requested by users. This AI-generated content has contributed to longer, less productive workplace memos and has even tricked news platforms into publishing inaccurate information, such as when the Chicago Sun-Times published an AI-generated summer reading list matching real authors with books they never wrote.
Glassdoor chose ‘fatigue’ after seeing a 41% spike in mentions across its platform, citing how emotionally exhausted workers are with the rapid rise of AI. When Glassdoor surveyed professionals about whether the news cycle was draining their energy at work, 78% said yes. Job seekers are growing increasingly frustrated with endless applications in a challenging job market while simultaneously trying to keep pace with AI adoption.
Cambridge Dictionary selected ‘parasocial’ to describe one-sided relationships people form with celebrities, influencers, and notably, AI chatbots. Business Insider has documented numerous instances where people become emotionally dependent on AI models or form long-term relationships with AI companions. The release of AI companions by platforms like Grock, including flirtatious anime characters, has increased the likelihood of such parasocial relationships.
Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, noted that “2025 has been a year defined by questions around who we truly are, both online and offline,” capturing the uncertainty and skepticism surrounding technology’s role in daily life.
Key Quotes
There’s no denying that 2025 has been a year defined by questions around who we truly are, both online and offline.
Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, captured the existential uncertainty that has characterized 2025, as AI and technology force society to reconsider fundamental questions about identity, authenticity, and human connection in an increasingly digital world.
While in recent years we’ve learnt to become search engineers to find meaningful information, we now need to become prompt engineers in order to wade through the AI slop.
The Macquarie Dictionary Committee highlighted how AI-generated content is fundamentally changing information literacy requirements, forcing users to develop new skills just to filter through low-quality AI output that clutters the digital landscape.
Yes, things could be better, but they could also be much worse.
Glassdoor offered this ironic observation about worker fatigue in 2025, acknowledging the exhaustion professionals feel from AI disruption and challenging job markets while attempting to provide perspective on the current state of work.
Our Take
The convergence of AI-related terms dominating 2025’s word of the year selections reveals an industry at a crossroads. We’re witnessing the simultaneous democratization and degradation of knowledge work—AI enables non-engineers to code while simultaneously producing ‘slop’ that pollutes information channels. This paradox suggests that AI’s value isn’t uniformly distributed; it creates winners and losers, efficiency and waste.
The parasocial relationship phenomenon is particularly alarming, indicating that AI companies are exploiting human psychological vulnerabilities for engagement. When Anthropic reports that Claude writes 90% of their code, it’s a watershed moment—AI is now building itself. The worker fatigue documented across platforms suggests we’re in an unsustainable transition period. Organizations must address the human cost of AI adoption or risk a backlash that could slow innovation. These words collectively serve as a cultural warning signal that AI integration is happening faster than society can healthily absorb.
Why This Matters
The dominance of AI-related terms in 2025’s words of the year signals a critical inflection point in how artificial intelligence is reshaping work, creativity, and human relationships. The selection of ‘vibe coding’ and ‘AI slop’ as top words reveals both the promise and peril of AI adoption: while AI is democratizing technical skills like coding, it’s simultaneously flooding the information ecosystem with low-quality content that erodes trust and productivity.
The widespread worker fatigue documented by Glassdoor suggests that AI’s rapid integration is outpacing people’s ability to adapt, creating psychological strain in workplaces. With 78% of professionals feeling drained by the news cycle and AI developments, organizations face a human capital crisis that could impact innovation and retention.
Most concerning is the emergence of parasocial relationships with AI chatbots, indicating that AI is moving beyond tool status to become a substitute for human connection. This trend has profound implications for mental health, social cohesion, and the future of human relationships. As AI companies rush to deploy companion chatbots, society must grapple with the ethical implications of technology designed to simulate emotional intimacy. These words collectively capture a moment of technological transformation that’s generating both opportunity and deep societal unease.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/2025-words-of-the-year-fatigue-ai-slop-vibe-coding-2025-12