Bhargava and Coutinho-Mason Release 1 Book of New Terms for the Late 2020s
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Nov 2
Bhargava and Coutinho-Mason Release 1 Book of New Terms for the Late 2020s
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Nov 2
Summary
"Future Words," due out next week, introduces coined terms such as "flawnting," "lifehoarding" and "puregatory" to describe anxieties and habits shaped by online life, optimization culture and ethical compromise.
Rohit Bhargava and Henry Coutinho-Mason frame the book as a way to fill language gaps for the late 2020s, capturing how devices, data, algorithms and AI increasingly mediate everyday behavior.
The book also reflects the forces it describes: the authors say they could not have written it without AI, underscoring the technology's growing role in both cultural critique and content creation.
Its release lands amid wider unease about AI's influence and risks, with the report citing one AI safety leader who has stopped saving for retirement because he fears catastrophic AI outcomes.