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TechCrunch Refreshes Its AI Glossary as a Living Reference

July 3, 2026 at 17:21 EDT

Foundation Models
Education

On July 3, 2026, TechCrunch published "The only AI glossary you’ll need this year," a plain-English reference explaining the key terms of the generative-AI era. Framed as a regularly updated "living document," it targets everyone from developers and investors to general readers.

July 3, 2026 · TechCrunch

The Only AI Glossary You'll Need This Year

A "living document" that decodes the jargon explosion around AI — from AGI to MCP — in plain language, refreshed as the field evolves. Built for product meetings, investment calls, and curious readers alike.

12+

core terms defined, from AGI to MCP

2023→26

updated since the "Age of AI" feature

Living

document, revised as AI advances

The Meeting-Room Cheat Sheet

LLM

The large language model underpinning tools like ChatGPT.

RAG

Generation combined with external retrieval to curb hallucination.

HALLUC.

When AI fabricates facts that sound plausible.

FINE-TUNE / DISTILL

Optimization methods such as specialization and compression.

CHAIN OF THOUGHT

Reasoning carried out step by step.

MCP

A protocol linking models to external tools and data.

How RAG curbs hallucination

A concrete use case behind the terminology

Query

→

Retrieve facts

→

Grounded answer

Why it lands

A practical cheat sheet tied to real use cases — RAG for accuracy, fine-tuning for domains, coding agents for speed. Better vocabulary means sharper questions and decisions.

The caveat

Some terms shift meaning by context — "AI agent" being the clearest example. The piece focuses on definitions, not benchmarks or pricing, and expects further updates.

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