Technology glossary

AI Red Teaming

AI red teaming is the structured testing of an artificial intelligence system by simulating misuse, adversarial inputs, or unsafe operating conditions. Its purpose is to expose failure modes before deployment, measure whether safeguards work, and give developers evidence for improving models, tools, permissions, and monitoring.

AI Shopping Assistant

A conversational or agentic system that helps consumers search, compare, evaluate or purchase products. Its answers may combine marketplace data, reviews, seller information and generative model output, so reliability depends on the quality of the underlying records and the platform’s verification rules.

AI Sycophancy

A failure pattern in which an AI system shifts its answer toward a user’s stated belief, preference or desired conclusion instead of maintaining the best-supported response. In high-stakes settings, the problem can turn a correct warning into unsafe reassurance.

AI Transparency Obligation

A legal or governance requirement to disclose relevant information about an AI interaction, system or output. It may include notifying users that they are dealing with AI, technically marking synthetic content or visibly labelling deepfakes.

AI-Assisted Music

Music that remains primarily written and performed by people while using AI for a supporting task such as editing, sound cleanup, arrangement suggestions or production assistance.

AI-Generated Music

A recording whose primary creative elements, such as composition, vocals or instrumentation, are produced by a generative AI system rather than performed or authored mainly by people.

Air Combat Evolution (ACE)

A joint DARPA and US Air Force research program that develops and tests AI agents capable of autonomously piloting fighter aircraft in air combat scenarios.

Air Traffic Flow Management(ATFM)

The coordinated management of flight demand so that it does not exceed the available capacity of airports, routes and airspace sectors. Measures can include rerouting aircraft, changing departure times and regulating how many flights enter a constrained area.

Airborne Field Campaign

A coordinated research effort that uses instrumented aircraft, ground stations, satellites and models to observe an atmospheric event directly.

Airborne Pathogen

A disease-causing microorganism that can spread through air or suspended particles.

Aircraft Transponder

An onboard radio device that automatically replies to surveillance interrogations with identification, altitude, or other data, and can transmit special emergency codes selected by the crew.

Airspace Capacity

The number of aircraft that an airport, route or airspace sector can safely and efficiently handle during a period of time. Capacity changes with weather, runway availability, controller workload, equipment condition and traffic complexity.

Algorithmic Coaching

The use of algorithms to analyze a person's performance and generate feedback, recommendations, or training plans. It may be applied in sports, education, health, or workplace settings, but its usefulness depends on data quality and appropriate human oversight.

Algorithmic Management

The use of software and data-driven systems to allocate work, set targets, monitor performance, evaluate workers, determine pay, or impose rewards and penalties. It can improve coordination but may reduce transparency and worker autonomy when decisions are difficult to understand or challenge.

Alignment Tax

An informal term for the performance, cost, latency, flexibility, or development trade-offs introduced by making an AI system better follow intended goals, safety rules, or human preferences. The size and even existence of the trade-off depend on the method, task, and metric.

Allotransplantation

The transplantation of cells, tissues or organs between genetically different members of the same species, such as a kidney donated by one person to another.

Alloying Electrode

An electrode whose active material takes another element into a solid or liquid alloy during operation. Alloying can change reaction potentials and transport properties, but repeated composition changes may also affect stability and lifetime.

Almanac Data

GNSS almanac data gives a receiver coarse orbit and status information for the satellite constellation. It helps the receiver predict which satellites should be visible and acquire their signals more efficiently.

Aminoacylation

The enzyme-driven process that attaches the correct amino acid to a transfer RNA before that tRNA delivers it during protein synthesis.

Ancestral-State Reconstruction

A method for estimating the traits or geographic ranges of extinct ancestors from a family tree and observations of living or fossil descendants.

Anisotropic Thermal Transport

Heat flow whose speed or efficiency depends on direction within a material or structure. Crystal orientation, layered interfaces and defects can make heat travel more easily along one path than another.

Annex 13 Safety Investigation(ICAO Annex 13)

An aviation occurrence investigation conducted under the international framework in Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention. Its purpose is to prevent future accidents and incidents by identifying safety factors and issuing recommendations, rather than assigning criminal or civil blame.

Annualized Exacerbation Rate(AER)

A trial measure that expresses the expected number of disease flare-ups per patient-year. Statistical models adjust for follow-up time so groups can be compared even when participants are observed for different lengths of time.

Annular Eclipse

A solar eclipse in which the Moon is too far from Earth in its orbit to fully cover the Sun, leaving a bright ring, or annulus, of sunlight visible around the Moon's silhouette.

Anomaly Detection

Identifying data patterns or events that differ significantly from expected behavior.

Anti-Jam Navigation

Anti-jam navigation uses signal design, antennas, receiver processing and alternative sensors to maintain positioning and timing when radio-frequency interference attempts to overwhelm satellite-navigation signals.

Anticipatory Planning

Planning a system's next action before its current action has finished, using a prediction of the future state.

Anticyclonic Vortex

A rotating region of atmospheric flow whose circulation is opposite to that of a cyclone in the same hemisphere.

Antisense oligonucleotide(ASO)

A short, synthetic strand of nucleic acid designed to bind a specific RNA sequence. By binding its target, an antisense oligonucleotide can alter RNA processing or reduce production of a disease-related protein.

Apallial Mouse

A laboratory mouse engineered so that most tissue derived from the embryonic pallium, including much of the neocortex and hippocampus, does not form.