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I've said it before, AI is the default way to hype technology.

A hundred years ago computers were 'electronic brains'.

It goes dormant after loosing its edge and then re-emerges when some research project gains traction again.

"Computer" in (simplified) Chinese is still "电脑" -- literally "electric/electronic brain".

If you trace the etymology of computer in English, it means something like "small chalk/limestone pebbles used for counting do-er." (See Latin "calx".)

And digital means 'fingerish'. Etymology can be fun but not always illuminating.

In Icelandic, computer is "tölva" which is a combination of "tala" meaning "number" and "völva" meaning "oracle".

And oracle means 'short announcement' (oraculum) meaning Icelanders call computers 'number announcers'. Interesting!

But more seriously, I wonder what the etymology of 'völva' is...

In Turkish, computer is "bilgisayar" which is a combination of "bilgi" meaning "knowledge" and "sayar" which is an intentional double-entendre of "counter"/"respects".

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