'Words, words, words.'

Every day I see people from different backgrounds, with different perspectives and different lexicons, trying to make sense of new technology, and grasp what it actually means for them.

I hear people using the same words, but meaning different things.

Sometimes the delta is slight, sometimes it's a yawning chasm. If not caught early, it creates a kind of _communication drift_ over time.

Miscommunication leads to misunderstanding.

Misunderstanding leads to mistrust.

Mistrust leads to a sense of being misled, even if that’s not the intention.

I’ve noticed different kinds of word drift:

eg. Agentic

'I know it’s important, and I know it means a magical AI kind of thing.

I know it carries a sense of weight and import.

But I’m not fully clear on what it means, and why it’s important to me.

And I’m not sure if I want to say that last part out loud.'

eg. Workflows

Means one thing in the organisational sense.

Means another thing in a technological context.

And can mean something else entirely within a specific platform.

eg. Scale

Means something specific to a creative or designer.

Something equally specific to a business person.

Something else entirely to an engineer.

Same word, different view through the lens of specialism.

Someone needs to smooth communication in the room.

Translate between different tribes.

This translation can lead to deflation as current reality becomes clear.

But clear reality now leads to feasible fantasy later.