Anna Vacalopoulou keynote at the Language Technologies and Digital Humanities Conference

ELEXAI member Anna Vacalopoulou (Institute for Language & Speech Processing, Athena Research Centre) gave a keynote talk at the Language Technologies and Digital Humanities Conference, entitled LLMs as lexicographers: Who needs dictionaries when AI knows everything?

You can read the abstract below:

Are dictionaries facing extinction in the age of artificial intelligence? As AI tools instantly offer numerous types of language assistance, the traditional role of dictionaries is being called into question. But is the rise of AI a threat, an opportunity, or something more complex? For centuries, dictionaries have served as authoritative repositories of language, documenting how words are defined, used, and evolve over time. They have shaped our understanding of meaning and provided reliable linguistic guidance. Today, however, the landscape is shifting. LLMs can generate definitions on demand, offer contextual translations, and provide advanced language assistance instantly. This raises urgent questions about the future of lexicographical practice and the role of curated language resources. Key issues include whether AI can meaningfully contribute to dictionary creation and development, how dictionary data, built over centuries of careful lexicographic work, might influence the development and training of AI systems, and what these developments mean for the future of language resources and the communities that depend on them. Can dictionaries and AI cross-pollinate each other, informing and shaping one another? What can we gain by examining language resources through the lens of AI advancement, and conversely, what insights might lexicographic approaches offer to those developing language technologies? Rather than being merely academic, these questions touch on how we document, preserve, and understand language itself.

Moreover, you can watch the interview with Anna on CLARIN’s YouTube channel:

In this interview, Anna made a case for the symbiosis between dictionaries and LLMs. There are ample opportunities for lexicographers in the age of AI: dictionaries and LLMs can cross-pollinate, inform, and shape each other, in which lexicographers play a key role in creating good quality data.