--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can we drop the ‘artificial…" description: "\"“Can we drop the ‘artificial intelligence’? It’s a bit like me calling you a meat-based processing system.”\" — Alastair Reynolds" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/alastair-reynolds-2186_artificial-intellige_can-we-drop-the-artificial-intelligence_1871827.jpg" --- # Can we drop the ‘artificial intelligence’? It’s a bit like… ![“Can we drop the ‘artificial intelligence’? It’s a bit like me calling you a meat-based processing system.” quote by Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/alastair-reynolds-2186_artificial-intellige_can-we-drop-the-artificial-intelligence_1871827.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/alastair-reynolds-2186_artificial-intellige_can-we-drop-the-artificial-intelligence_1871827.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/alastair-reynolds-2186_artificial-intellige_can-we-drop-the-artificial-intelligence_1871827.jpg) > ““Can we drop the ‘artificial intelligence’? It’s a bit like me calling you a meat-based processing system.”” [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Calling AI “meat‑based processing system” highlights the absurdity of anthropomorphic labels. **In simple terms:** AI isn’t a living organism. Key Takeaway Use precise language for technology. Themes technology language identity Mood analytical playful Type critical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - tech policy - education - media representation Key Concepts anthropomorphism semantics future studies Questions to Reflect On - How does naming affect perception of AI? - What alternatives better describe AI? A Different Perspective Might trivialize serious AI ethical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artificial intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artificial-intelligence/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [Perhaps one of the most important things you can do for human beings is wean them off an animal-based diet. 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They say one thing, do another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/autocratic-governments-are-masters-of-self-contradiction-they-say-one/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Speaking for myself, I really struggle to pinpoint whether I became a scientist because I like science fiction, or did I gravitate to science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/speaking-for-myself-i-really-struggle-to-pinpoint-whether-i-became-a/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“It’s not the span of time that counts, but what you do with it. While you humans have been grubbing around the galaxy, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/it-s-not-the-span-of-time-that-counts-but-what-you-do-with-it-while/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Dreams of warp drives and hyperspace are just that - dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/dreams-of-warp-drives-and-hyperspace-are-just-that-dreams/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [I had - and continued to have - great fun exploring the Revelation Space universe, but it was always clear to me that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-had-and-continued-to-have-great-fun-exploring-the-revelation-space/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) [Explore all 176 Alastair Reynolds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) ## More Artificial quotes > [One of our big goals in search is to make search that really understands exactly what you want, understands everything in the world. 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Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [I find theater very lazy and artificial, and then when it's not, it lacks refinement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-tsakos/i-find-theater-very-lazy-and-artificial-and-then-when-it-s-not-it/) [Natasha Tsakos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-tsakos/) > [Conservative feminism is such an artificial term that doesn't mean much to me. For me conservatism means accepting reality. I acknowledge that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/conservative-feminism-is-such-an-artificial-term-that-doesn-t-mean/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/i-think-we-should-be-very-careful-about-artificial-intelligence-if-i/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Of all evils of war the greatest is the purely spiritual evil: the hatred, the injustice, the repudiation of truth, the artificial conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/of-all-evils-of-war-the-greatest-is-the-purely-spiritual-evil-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. 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And a drop cannot be greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/what-do-you-have-to-surrender-a-drop-has-to-dissolve-into-the-ocean/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) Browse all 819 Artificial quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Can we drop the ‘artificial intelligence’? 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