The dictionary definition of the word “ate” is a verb that could either mean the past tense of “eat” or what Merriam-Webster just pulled in a new ad.
The reference book publishing company, which is best known for its dictionaries, recently announced a new large language model it will release in November, accompanied by a video published to its social media accounts.
At first, users on X were really upset about the update, because it seemed like the company was fully embracing artificial intelligence.
“It is the dawn of the AI era,” the ad begins. The video then goes on to use corporate and Silicon Valley-esque jargon used to hype AI software by claiming their new “LLM” is a “powerful tool” with “rigorously designed parameters” that “will change the way you communicate forever.”
But don’t worry, the dictionary isn’t going to shift from being a physical book with pages to some weird dictionary version of ChatGPT. The company still apparently has a spine, because the ad eventually reveals that all this buildup was just to announce a new edition of their dictionary.
As it showcases an image of the 12th edition of its collegiate dictionary (which is, in fact, still a book) and the company logo with the words “the twelfth edition” below it, the ad concludes with the line: “There’s artificial intelligence and there’s actual intelligence.”
X users — who actually watched the entire ad — were completely delighted by the ad’s twist ending.
“I apologize Merriam-Webster I was not familiar with your game,” a user said.
“Hey Merri, define GOAT,” another joked.
“Merriam-Webster told yall pick up a book I’m crying,” another user echoed.
Many others chimed in with their love of the ad, with many admitting that they totally fell for its trick.
There may also be a reason why Merriam-Webster went so hard with their ad. The company, as well as Encyclopedia Britannica, is suing the tech company Perplexity for copyright infringement, claiming it plagiarized hundreds of thousands of copyrighted online articles to feed Perplexity’s AI chatbot.