More people in the United States are searching about AI on Google

New data from Mason Frank International, a Tenth Revolution Group, has confirmed the increasing level of interest surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) from people in the United States.

The search on Google for "What is AI" increased by an incredible 643 per cent over the last 12 months, proving the greater intrigue from the American public over AI and at the same time the possible confusion over what it actually is.

The US has decided they are to inspect the safety of AI before choosing whether or not the nation will regulate it. Current reluctance from many people to fully embrace AI is partly due to concerns over security and privacy when utilising AI chatbot systems such as the OpenAI-developed ChatGPT.

The trends in the tech landscape often emerge and pass on at a very quick rate and the current conversation for many has centred around AI and how it will continue to impact everybody's lives. Due to this rapid rate at which new technologies and inventions emerge in today's society, they can be difficult to consume, especially if it is because of the abbreviations of the terms.

Mason Frank International conducted its research in order to discover the level of confusion and lack of understanding over abbreviated new tech terms. The company looked at Google search volume data so it could round up the five most searched tech terms as well as the searches' average global monthly search volume and trend pattern for the past year.

Interest in AI surged in the US as Google searches for "What is AI" rose by 643 per cent in the last 12 months and the term had an average global monthly search volume of 60,500. AI is a technological tool that mirrors a human's mindset and operates with the traits of a human in order to perform tasks that humans are capable of.

This surge in the searches indicates that there should be clearer and more effective communication in the tech industry as there are many terms which contain acronyms and abbreviations, and some people may continue to be confused by newer technologies if there is a lack of clarity on what they truly stand for.

Fascinatingly, research by communications company, Enreach, found that 90 per cent of people believe business-related jargon is used by those who want to look as if they know what they are talking about when in reality, they do not. Also, Enreach discovered 50 per cent of people find jargon language to be of real annoyance to them whilst 20 per cent get irritated when an employer constantly uses jargon in a job interview.

Chairman and CEO of Mason Frank International, James Lloyd-Townshend, touched on why jargon and shortened tech terms should not be overused despite how useful it is to tech industry experts.

He clarified: "Jargon, shorthand, acronyms, and abbreviations can all be useful in our day-to-day tech work conversations, but we have to be mindful about how somebody new to the space or sector might be experiencing that. We don't want folks to feel overwhelmed by all the new information they have to decode."

Also, Lloyd-Townshend advises spelling out full versions of tech terms for the better benefit of others. He commented: "It's also worth thinking about using full terms and taking the time to explain them, even briefly, especially when you're in an inter-departmental context or speaking with a non-tech audience."

Another one of the top five searched tech abbreviation terms on Google in the US was, "What is API", which had an average global monthly search volume of 74,000 and a trend pattern of zero per cent in the past 12 months. API is an application programming interface which involves one product or service communicating with another product or service.

The likelihood of some terms having a trend pattern of zero per cent from the past year is likely down to the tech term not being familiar with most people at that time.

Another misunderstood term, judging from the searches on Google, was "What is Cloud Computing", with an average global monthly search volume of 18,100 and a trend for the past year of zero per cent. Cloud computing revolves around delivering different services on the computer via the Internet including data storage, servers and databases.

Another term heavily searched in the US was "What is CSS", with an average global monthly search volume of 9900 and a trend pattern of zero per cent. CSS is an acronym for Cascading Style Sheets and is a programming language that describes the presentation of a document that is written in a markup language, such as HTML or XML.

There is much more flexibility and accessibility when utilising CSS as the content is split from the presentation. CSS allows for a document to be laid out in various styles and therefore rendered for different viewing methods such as in print form or on-screen.

The remaining searched tech term was, "What is IoT", which had an average global monthly search volume of 8100 and a 23 per cent increase in searches in the previous 12 months. IoT is an acronym for Internet of Things, which is the description for the network of physical items that are immersed with sensors and software, with the idea of connecting and exchanging data via internet connections.