AP Stylebook Urges Writers Not to Anthropomorphize AI

Summary

The AP Stylebook says artificial intelligence systems should not be described as thinking, feeling, wanting, or understanding, because such wording gives them human characteristics. It identifies this practice as anthropomorphizing: assigning human traits, emotions, or behaviors to non-human things. Instead, the guidance recommends explaining what a system does, how well it performs, who built it, and who could be affected. The post links to an Associated Press report titled “OpenAI flags concerning new AI behavior and vows to track it more closely,” but the post itself does not provide details about that behavior or OpenAI’s response.