Podcast Summary: TED Talks Daily

Episode Title: Why are people starting to sound like ChatGPT?
Guest: Adam Aleksic (Etymologist, Content Creator, Author of "Algo Speak")
Host: Elise Hu
Date: December 18, 2025

Overview

In this provocative TED Talk and follow-up conversation, etymologist and content creator Adam Aleksic explores how AI tools—particularly large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT—are subtly but profoundly shaping how we speak, think, and even understand reality. Drawing on his linguistic expertise and research, Aleksic cautions that these technologies are not neutral conduits but active agents in molding culture, perceptions, and language itself. The discussion moves from viral trends to deeper questions of identity, cognition, and how we can maintain our "realness" in an increasingly AI-mediated world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI’s Distorting Influence on Reality and Language

• Perception Gaps & Algorithmic Distortions (04:13–07:30)

  • Algorithms, by favoring controversy and engagement, present exaggerated versions of reality (e.g., political extremism).
  • Viral content shapes our sense of what's normal, blurring the line between digitally amplified "reality" and actual lived experience.

• Quote:

  “We all end up seeing this more extreme version of reality, and we're clearly starting to confuse that with actual reality.”
  —Adam Aleksic (04:36)

• Feedback Loops in AI and User Behavior (07:30–08:57)

  • Specific linguistic tics—like the word "delve," overused in ChatGPT due to the backgrounds of training data annotators—begin to seep into everyday speech globally.
  • This echo effect tightens the loop: AI shapes language; people imitate AI; AI retrains on these outputs.

• Quote:

  “We're in a positive feedback loop with the AI representing reality, us thinking that's the real reality, and then regurgitating it so that the AI can be fed more of our data.”
  —Adam Aleksic (07:54)

• Examples of Algorithmically Created Trends

  • "Hyperpop" as a music category emerged after Spotify’s algorithm grouped listeners, not before.
  • Algorithmic trends—like the rise of products or even nonsense words—can become self-fulfilling, blurring organic and manufactured culture.

2. The Slippery Line Between Human and Machine Speech

• Subtle Linguistic Convergence (18:51–20:39)

  • Words like "surpass," "boast," and "garner" are increasingly used by humans simply because tools like ChatGPT favor them.
  • Even if you intentionally avoid “ChatGPT-isms,” these linguistic forms infiltrate via exposure.

• Quote:

  "You're going to see it more, no matter how immune you think you are, and then you're going to start saying it more."
  —Adam Aleksic (20:39)

• Loop of Aggregation and Homogenization

  • Public discourse, research, and even legislation are being “flattened” as more AI-generated language circulates.

• Host Insight:

  “…it’s this unending funhouse mirror or feedback loop of our language. We feed it. It feeds us back to us from, like, an aggregated data set.”
  —Elise Hu (20:39–20:50)

3. Language Evolution: Not New, but Newly Rapid and Systemic

• Language Has Always Adapted to Mediums (12:44–13:26)

  • Human communication historically shaped by technological constraints (oral storytelling, writing materials, print).
  • AI and platforms are the newest paradigm, but the pace is unprecedented—slang, memes, and word trends rise and fall in days, not decades.

• Quote:

  “Algorithms are that new paradigm shift. AI is a new paradigm shift. We're in this really fast paced moment where our language is rerouting around these new mediums we're interacting with.”
  —Adam Aleksic (13:04)

4. Internet Culture and Generational Change

• Gen Alpha, Slang, and Performative Speech (14:38–17:54)

  • Kids and meme communities invent and discard words at breakneck speeds ("6, 7", "lowkenuely," "chat").
  • Language often arises from performance for algorithms—a kind of "panopticon" awareness that you’re always on view.

• Quote:

  “Now the implied joke is still this possibility that a camera is watching you. And I think that's maybe a defining trend that I keep seeing, that we're kind of aware of this constant surveillance or Panopticon, and we're ironically performing for the algorithm…”
  —Adam Aleksic (16:37)

5. Cultural Costs: Homogenization and Loss of Diversity

• Language Death and Cultural Flattening (21:09–23:01)

  • The spread of standardized, AI-driven language may accelerate the demise of dialects and minority languages, erasing unique worldviews.
  • Globalization and tech platforms amplify this, centralizing communication around a few dominant forms.

• Quote:

  “We have a language dying out every two weeks…this was happening before, I think the Internet perhaps accelerated it. But…algorithms which are more of this force for homogeneity…”
  —Adam Aleksic (21:47)

  • Loss of linguistic nuance means losing unique ways of experiencing reality, like verb forms for “being a Saturday” in Potawatomi.

6. Strategies for Resistance & Media Literacy

• The Imperative to Question and Critique (09:06, 23:32–25:47)

  • Aleksic urges continual inquiry: "Why am I seeing this? Why am I saying this? Why am I thinking this? And why is the platform rewarding this?" (09:06)
  • Critical media literacy ("radical media literacy," 24:51) is needed—understanding how platforms algorithmically curate reality.

• Education and Regulation

  • Aleksic advocates for explicit teaching of digital and algorithmic literacy, akin to traditional news literacy, from a young age.
  • While individual awareness is crucial, systemic regulation of platforms is necessary for real change.

• Quote:

  “It's my dream that one day in 10th grade ELA class, along with poetry scansion, you have a unit for how to look at TikTok. And I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's not a joke.”
  —Adam Aleksic (25:07)

• Gradual Digital Integration for Kids

  • Banning screens isn't enough; children should learn to navigate algorithms safely and critically (26:04–27:18).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI's Subtlety:

  “Essentially, we're subconsciously confusing the AI version of language with actual language.”
  —Adam Aleksic (06:30)

• Paradox of ‘Content Creation’:

  “I hate the word content. … It implies, first of all, that it's interchangeable with other pieces of content and that…the content doesn't have anything special within it.”
  —Adam Aleksic (30:01)

• Language as Canary in the Coal Mine:

  “I think language is the canary in the coal mine. That sort of proxy for greater cultural shifts…”
  —Adam Aleksic (23:32)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:13–09:22 | Adam’s TED Talk: How AI & algorithms distort language and reality | | 11:43–21:09 | Interview: Language evolution, viral trends, youth slang | | 21:09–23:32 | Risks of linguistic homogenization & loss of cultural nuance | | 23:32–27:18 | How to resist: Media literacy, education, and regulation | | 27:18–30:01 | Personal insights: Creativity, hobbies, and pet linguistic peeves |

Conclusion

Adam Aleksic paints a complex but compelling picture of how AI—far from being a neutral accessory—reshapes the fundamental ways we speak, think, and see ourselves. The challenge, he argues, is not to escape these technologies, but to remain vigilant and literate, constantly interrogating the structures influencing our thoughts and words. As language evolves ever faster under algorithmic guidance, the need for collective digital awareness—and perhaps systemic regulation—has never felt more urgent.

For more TED Talks and to learn about their curation guidelines, visit ted.com/curationguidelines.