Continuously updated · AI Dictionary
The language of AI,
clearly defined.
A field guide to the words changing how we build, work and think—from token and transformer to AI agents and vibe coding.
471 terms
10 topics
1847–2026 timeline
Built as a living reference
Clear words. Useful context.
01
Plain English firstThe definition comes before the jargon.
02
Usage over hypeEstablished meanings are separated from new or informal ones.
03
Show the trailSources appear on entries as they are reviewed.
Latest update · October 2026
New in the AI Dictionary
Fresh language for the newest shifts in AI, explained without the jargon.
autonomous replication and adaptation
a cluster of AI capabilities that would let an agent acquire resources, create and maintain copies of itself, and adapt to obstacles or countermeasures with little or no human assistance
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hierarchical summarization
a multistage method that summarizes individual chunks, interactions, or agent actions and then summarizes those summaries to produce a higher-level account of a long document, conversation, or behavior pattern
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preserved thinking
the retention and reuse of a model's earlier reasoning blocks across later turns or tool calls, sometimes with integrity checks that limit which models can read the blocks and whether altered conversation history invalidates them
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agentic federation
an arrangement that lets AI agents in different trust domains identify one another, receive bounded permissions, and exchange work across organizational or platform boundaries without relying on one central operator
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