China state media urges dropping English AI terms for Chinese equivalents

China's state media is pushing for the adoption of standardized Chinese terms for artificial intelligence concepts, moving away from English-language jargon. The Communist Party mouthpiece, People's Daily, published a commentary arguing that continued reliance on foreign terminology, such as "agent" and "LLM" for large language model, leads to "cognitive dependency" and weakens China's influence in global technology governance.

The commentary highlighted China's official designation of "ciyuan" as the standard translation for "token" in March. This move aims to bolster the country's "discourse power" in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. The article contended that using foreign jargon deprives China of the authority to define key technological concepts, potentially hindering the development of original domestic theories and a distinct Chinese framework for discussing technology.

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reliance on foreign terminology would lead to “cognitive dependency” and ultimately undermine the country’s voice in global technology governance.

Unlike earlier technologies whose names were localized, such as "dian nao" (electric brain) for computer, English AI terms are often not easily understood by ordinary Chinese citizens. This linguistic barrier, the commentary suggested, further justifies the need for a standardized Chinese vocabulary to ensure broader comprehension and national technological discourse.

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English AI terms were rarely self-explanatory to ordinary Chinese people