GPT-3 as a Vanity Satisfier

“To google” was 2000ies. In 2020 you GPT-3 somebody. Or yourself.

To google or not to google?

Hand on heart: haven’t you already googled yourself? American Dialect Society chose the verb “to google” already 2002 as “most useful word of the year”. 2006 both Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary listed the verb officially as well.

Ironically, there was even a Swedish word “Ogooglebar” (ungoogleable), for things that cannot be found via Google. Google forced 2013 the Language Council of Sweden to remove it from Top 10 Word List, by a claim of Google brand protection. You can comprehend the displeasure of the Council about the attempts of a commercial company to control the Swedish language.

Ann Cederberg, Head of Council declared later:

“If we want to have ogooglebar in the language, then we’ll use the word and it’s our use that gives it meaning — not a multinational company exerting pressure. Speech must be free!”

Indeed, Google hasn’t it a problem, as the same Council added “googla” (to google) 2003 to their list.

“To google” as a verb was a theme of that viral song “I Google You” by “Dresden Dolls”. Amanda Palmer wrote the music, Neil Gaiman was the…