Samsung Makes New 5 Year Credit Offer To Galaxy Z Fold 7 Buyers
Samsung wants to capitalize on its trade-in pricing supremacy with a standalone trade-in program that isn't directly linked to buying a new phone. But how do these static valuations compare to Samsung's recent deals?
This story was updated on July 27th with new U.S. trade-in pricing.
The new U.K.-based scheme is fairly straightforward. If you want to trade in your phone (it will only accept Galaxy S and Galaxy Z models at this time) without buying a new handset, you can do it through this portal. Samsung will then gift you store credit that lasts for up to five years and be used to buy anything Samsung sells. Forbes Samsung Makes $963 Offer To Galaxy Z Fold 7 Buyers By Janhoi McGregor
There is also an option to trade-in and instantly buy a new device. Samsung will accept more brands through this route, including Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Sony, and other devices it doesn't normally accept. Typically, when trading-in to buy a new phone, Samsung will group any handsets not made by Apple, Google, or itself under a single 'any other Android' category, which comes with a single price, so this is a clear change of strategy.
While we're on price, Samsung's valuations fall short of previous deals if you're swapping in a Samsung phone. The news is much better for Apple handsets, though. More on that shortly. For now, here's a selection of what the new trade-in scheme is offering for 512GB used phones. Forbes A New Samsung Galaxy S26 Design Upgrade Makes Perfect Sense By Janhoi McGregor Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 - £665 ($893.49) (up to £735 for the 1TB model)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra - £453 ($608.65)
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 - £402 ($540.13)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra - £340 ($456.82)
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra - £216 ($290.22)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra - £181 ($243.19)
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max - £615 ($826.31)
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max - £455 ($611.34)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max - £335 ($450.11)
Google Pixel Fold - £290 ($389.64)
Google Pixel 8 Pro - £256 ($343.96)
Pixel 7 Pro - £110 ($147.80)
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 smartphone is displayed at a Samsung store in Seoul on July 10, 2025. ... More Samsung unveiled on July 9, the new generation of its foldable smartphone, the Z Fold7, dramatically slimmed down in an attempt to jumpstart this still-niche market. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
In a promotion last month, Samsung U.K. suddenly raised trade-in prices that competed with Samsung U.S. valuations. For the unaware, U.K. and European trade-in pricing has historically been poor. Instead, the Korean company prefers to bundle free hardware in its British promotions, like a free tablet, earbuds, or a chromebook. That changed in June with an offer that raised trade-in prices to the highest I have ever seen them on this side of the pond. Here's a selection of those prices up against Samsung's new trade-in scheme.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra June price: £581 ($784.06), new scheme price: £453 ($608.65)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra June price: £449 ($449.39), new scheme price: £340 ($456.82)
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, June price: £230 ($310.39), new scheme price: £335 ($450.11)
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, June price: £500 ($674.75), new scheme price: £615 ($826.31)
As you can see, the new scheme won't pay as much for some Samsung handsets, but it will pay more (than the last major promotion) for Apple phones. The new scheme's pricing also appears to be based on the current pre-order deal for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which makes me wonder if Samsung's valuations—for this scheme—will change based on whatever offer the company is running that day.
If they broadly stay as they are, this is a solid good option for people looking to lock in a decent trade-in price to use later (as store credit). That's important because these valuations do change as the phones age and lose software support, which was the case with the Galaxy S20 Ultra earlier this year. But always check if Samsung is running a promotion on its site, or the Samsung Shop app, because there's a decent chance you will find a better price for your used phone.
July 27th update: Galaxy Z Fold 7 buyers in the U.S. haven't been ignored when it comes to trade-in discounts. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 pre-order period is over, but Samsung still has inflated trade-in prices on its site. There are some solid prices here for older phones that rival some of the better promotions we have seen from the Korean company. Here are a couple of realistic trade-in options. Galaxy Z Fold 5 - $900
Galaxy S24 Ultra - 800
Galaxy Note 20 Ultra - $600
Galaxy S22 Ultra - $500
Galaxy S21 Ultra - $400
Clearly, the best price here is $600 for the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which was released five years ago in 2020. You can buy a Note 20 Ultra on eBay for far less than this—in some cases for under $200—if you don't have anything to trade-in and want that discount.
Samsung wants you to handover a Galaxy phone because the trade-in prices for Apple handsets, and other Android devices, are nothing to write home about. For example, a realistic Apple trade-in, such as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, is priced at $300. Depending on the condition, you could get slightly more than that on the secondary market. Google Pixel phones are poorly priced, too. With exceptions of the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold ($600), numbers dramatically dip with the Pixel 8 Pro ($250) and crater with the Pixel 7 Pro ($150).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
3 UK Stocks Estimated To Be Up To 47.5% Below Intrinsic Value
The UK stock market has recently faced challenges, with the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices experiencing declines amid concerns over China's economic recovery and its impact on global trade. As London markets respond to these global cues, investors might find opportunities in stocks that are currently trading below their intrinsic value, offering potential for long-term growth despite short-term volatility. Top 10 Undervalued Stocks Based On Cash Flows In The United Kingdom Name Current Price Fair Value (Est) Discount (Est) Vistry Group (LSE:VTY) £6.236 £11.87 47.5% Topps Tiles (LSE:TPT) £0.3845 £0.71 45.5% TBC Bank Group (LSE:TBCG) £48.35 £95.75 49.5% Moonpig Group (LSE:MOON) £2.145 £4.04 46.9% Marlowe (AIM:MRL) £4.42 £8.37 47.2% LSL Property Services (LSE:LSL) £2.98 £5.87 49.2% Gooch & Housego (AIM:GHH) £6.04 £11.14 45.8% Franchise Brands (AIM:FRAN) £1.41 £2.69 47.5% Begbies Traynor Group (AIM:BEG) £1.22 £2.26 45.9% AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) £108.02 £194.02 44.3% Click here to see the full list of 53 stocks from our Undervalued UK Stocks Based On Cash Flows screener. Here we highlight a subset of our preferred stocks from the screener. Franchise Brands Overview: Franchise Brands plc operates in franchising and related activities across the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America, and Continental Europe, with a market cap of £271.48 million. Operations: The company's revenue is primarily derived from its segments: Azura (£0.81 million), Pirtek (£63.91 million), B2C Division (£5.75 million), Filta International (£25.60 million), and Water & Waste Services (£46.05 million). Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 47.5% Franchise Brands is trading at £1.41, significantly below its estimated fair value of £2.69, suggesting it is undervalued based on cash flows. Earnings are expected to grow 29.39% annually, outpacing the UK market's 14.7%. Although revenue growth at 7.4% per year is slower than desired, it still exceeds the UK market average of 3.6%. Recent earnings growth was substantial at 143.9%, highlighting strong financial performance potential. According our earnings growth report, there's an indication that Franchise Brands might be ready to expand. Unlock comprehensive insights into our analysis of Franchise Brands stock in this financial health report. Victorian Plumbing Group Overview: Victorian Plumbing Group plc is an online retailer specializing in bathroom products and accessories for both B2C and trade customers in the United Kingdom, with a market cap of £237.09 million. Operations: Victorian Plumbing Group generates revenue through its online retail sales of bathroom products and accessories to both consumer and trade markets in the UK. Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 39.5% Victorian Plumbing Group is trading at £0.72, considerably below its estimated fair value of £1.2, highlighting its potential undervaluation based on cash flows. Despite a volatile share price and insider selling, earnings are forecast to grow significantly at 29.7% annually, surpassing the UK market's growth rate. However, profit margins have declined from last year and dividends remain inadequately covered by free cash flows despite a recent increase in payout to shareholders. Insights from our recent growth report point to a promising forecast for Victorian Plumbing Group's business outlook. Take a closer look at Victorian Plumbing Group's balance sheet health here in our report. Wickes Group Overview: Wickes Group plc is a UK-based retailer specializing in home improvement products and services, with a market cap of £532.73 million. Operations: The company generates revenue of £1.54 billion from its retail operations in home improvement products and services within the UK. Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 28.0% Wickes Group, trading at £2.25, is undervalued compared to its fair value estimate of £3.12, reflecting a discount greater than 20% based on discounted cash flow analysis. The company forecasts robust earnings growth of 26.8% annually, outpacing the UK market's average. Despite this potential, dividends are not well-covered by earnings and recent results show declining profit margins from last year. Recent index additions signal increased visibility among investors. In light of our recent growth report, it seems possible that Wickes Group's financial performance will exceed current levels. Click to explore a detailed breakdown of our findings in Wickes Group's balance sheet health report. Make It Happen Unlock more gems! Our Undervalued UK Stocks Based On Cash Flows screener has unearthed 50 more companies for you to here to unveil our expertly curated list of 53 Undervalued UK Stocks Based On Cash Flows. Are any of these part of your asset mix? Tap into the analytical power of Simply Wall St's portfolio to get a 360-degree view on how they're shaping up. Unlock the power of informed investing with Simply Wall St, your free guide to navigating stock markets worldwide. Ready To Venture Into Other Investment Styles? Explore high-performing small cap companies that haven't yet garnered significant analyst attention. Diversify your portfolio with solid dividend payers offering reliable income streams to weather potential market turbulence. Fuel your portfolio with companies showing strong growth potential, backed by optimistic outlooks both from analysts and management. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include AIM:FRAN AIM:VIC and LSE:WIX. This article was originally published by Simply Wall St. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@
Tom's Guide
17 minutes ago
- Tom's Guide
Tom's Guide Awards 2025: Our favorite phones of the year
Whether you want a phone with a massive screen, one that takes beautiful photos or one you can quickly fold up, this has been an amazing year for smartphones, and we've tested the best ones out there. From flagship phones with top of the line specs, camera phones with high-resolution sensors, flip or tablet-style foldables to budget phones that punch above their weight, you have loads of options when it comes to choosing the right smartphone for you. Our team of experts has tested and reviewed all of the latest smartphones for the Tom's Guide Awards 2025. Below, we highlight our favorite phones from the last 12 months whose design, features and pricing impressed us the most and we believe have earned a spot in your pocket. Samsung came back hard with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which set the tone for all flagship releases this year. This year's Ultra made a big leap thanks to its mighty Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset that powers many of its new Galaxy AI features. Specifically, it introduced cross app actions with Gemini that allows users to perform complex actions all with voice commands — it's like having a personal assistant that can manage your day-to-day duties. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is a powerhouse unlike anything out there, proving it's a gaming champ with its incredible performance. But what makes it even better is how it's much more power efficient, resulting in a boost in battery life over its predecessor. At the same time, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a productivity powerhouse thanks to its support for Samsung DeX and the S Pen. With the latter, it offers users a desktop PC-like experience when it's connected to an external display. We've tested out this feature and it makes for a decent laptop replacement. Meanwhile, the S Pen gives it that paper meets pen experience that some people prefer. And finally, the Galaxy S25 Ultra offers an astounding camera experience thanks to the four cameras on the back of the phone. This is a versatile camera system that lets you capture subjects near and far, but it also has a robust set of AI tools that can enhance your photos and videos after the fact — like Audio Eraser and LOG video recording. No other phone can match its performance and features, making it the best phone you can buy for the money. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. While Apple equipped its standard iPhone with plenty of new features and enhancements last fall, the Pro lineup continues to receive the lion's share of the company's attention. And that makes the iPhone 16 Pro — the more affordable of Apple's two Pro iPhones — the top model right now. Everything the iPhone 16 Pro Max can do, the iPhone 16 Pro can do as well, from showing off the power of Apple's A19 Pro chipset to supporting the new Apple Intelligence features Apple has been rolling out to its phones over the past nine months. And if you've ever looked at the Pro Max model's bigger screen with envy, the iPhone 16 Pro addresses that, thanks to a larger 6.3-inch display than its predecessors. The cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro get a nice upgrade, too, — one that really stands out when we shot photos with Apple's phone. This version picks up the 5x optical zoom feature introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, while improvements to both the ultrawide and main cameras help the iPhone 16 Pro produce vivid, detailed images. A new Camera Control button — an addition to every iPhone 16 mode — puts a Visual Intelligence feature that turns the camera into a search tool right at your fingertips. And we appreciate how the new Audio Mix feature can seamlessly remove background noise from the video you've captured. In short, the best features of the iPhone are very much on display in the iPhone 16 Pro. And while that $999 starting price isn't cheap, it's within reach for anyone who wants the best that Apple has to offer in a phone. Despite debuting almost a year ago in August 2024, the Pixel 9 Pro has clung onto its status as our favorite Android phone. More powerful and capable devices have appeared since, but the overall value offered by the Pixel 9 Pro is still hard to beat. Encased in a compact 6.3-inch body that's smaller than almost all other devices in the category, you'll find an incredibly bright Super "Actua" display. But despite the brightness, the Pixel 9 Pro has decent battery life, at least compared to other smaller flagship phones. The three cameras embedded in the distinctive rear horizontal bar are capable of brilliant photos, and you might have more time to use them thanks to the included free year of Gemini AI Pro (worth $20 a month) with your purchase opening up a huge range of AI features. Abilities like Pixel Screenshots and Gemini Live can prove to be especially useful to keen chatbot fans. Perfection eludes the Pixel 9 Pro due to its lower-powered Tensor G4 chipset, and the fact it's effectively a price increase over previous pro Pixels, giving you less phone for the same money. But those quibbles aside, it's a deserving recipient of this award. Hope you've got space on your mantlepiece, Google. Being the best camera phone takes more than just having pixel crunching specs, it needs to have a versatile camera software as well to meet the demands of power users. No other phone meets the criteria that we look for than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra — and with good reason. First of all, its quadruple camera setup means it has all the range covered. Whether you're shooting something far off in the distance, or a super closeup of something, it has you covered. Its 200MP main camera might seem overkill, but the sensor pulled out bright shots under low light conditions, which is evident in our 200 photo shootout with the Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL. Meanwhile, we put its 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and 50MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom against the iPhone 16 Pro Max in a zoom shootout — and Samsung wins the zoom conversation. We've also used its camera to capture professional looking portrait photos that almost look like they're captured by a mirrorless the performance, the S25 Ultra is the best camera phone due to the amount of modes and features it offers with its camera app. From dedicated manual modes for photos and videos, to its ability to support external audio recording sources, it has the most robust native camera app around. We don't just think that Google has the best AI features of any phone maker — we know it, after putting the Pixel through a series of tests with the latest iPhones and Galaxy flagships to find out which one excelled at the most tasks. In our AI phone face-off, the latest Google devices came out on top in four of our six tests, and they gave the Galaxy S25 series all that it could handle in the image generation and photo editing tasks, too. That's about as definitive a win as you can get. All of Google's Pixel 9 phones support the same AI capabilities, meaning the standard Pixel 9 is every bit as capable as the premium Pixel 9 Pro XL when it comes to make the most of Google's AI-friendly Tensor chipset. And since the $799 Pixel 9 costs several hundred dollars less than the Pro XL, it's the phone to turn to when you want the best AI features without breaking the bank. The Pixel 9 has plenty going for it besides AI, from top-performing cameras to a compact design. But if you're looking for a phone that can translate text into other languages on the fly, summarize recordings and notes and tap into the power of Gemini for performing everyday tasks, the Pixel 9 is just about impossible to beat. Samsung looked too complacent the last couple of years, as its foldable phones saw heated competition — but it came roaring back with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. This flip-style phone sees bigger upgrades than previous years, including a much larger Flex Window display, longer battery life, multimodal AI features, and the introduction of Samsung DeX. What also helps is that despite having a larger 4.1-inch Flex Window display and 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x main display, Samsung keeps the same compact form factor and thin construction as before. The new Armor FlexHinge design is stronger and smoother than before, ensuring that it closes and opens with that satisfying snap. Over on the productivity side, the new multimodal experience of Gemini Live paired with its camera and Flex Window display lets you ask questions about what you're seeing. For example, you can ask it to translate a sign you see in front of you — all by just using voice commands. The Z Flip 7 also gets Samsung DeX support, which is a first for the series and brings that desktop-PC like experience to the phone. It wouldn't be the best foldable phone either if it couldn't take good photos. While the camera hardware remains unchanged, its new ProVisual Engine does enhance photos to draw out more detail. Meanwhile, its various Flex Modes allow creators to use the camera hands-free — making it the perfect phone for vlogging and selfies. There are a lot of practical benefits to foldable phones, like the fact you basically have a more portable version of a tablet. The problem is they felt too much like tablets, and lugging around what is effectively two screens in one was kind of a chore. But that's changed, and the ingenious design of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is to thank. The Z Fold 7 is much thinner and lighter than its predecessor, weighing just 7.5 ounces and measuring a mere 4.2mm (unfolded). To the point where you might actually forget you're holding a foldable at times. It's like Samsung took a bunch of lessons from the Galaxy S25 Edge, and used them to solve some of the issues it's had with past foldables. Plus it's all been done without sacrificing durability, thanks to stronger display glass, a newly reinforced hinge and a titanium lattice. So this is a phone that looks as good as it gives. There's an argument that there are a lot of factors to look into when it comes to gauging battery life on a phone. However, when it's all said and done, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro simply outlasts all the competition. Asus has always delivered when it comes to battery life, and the latest addition takes that to the next level. When we tested the phone, it achieved a time of 20 hours and 34 minutes on TG's custom battery test while the phone's display was set to an adaptive refresh rate. This impressive battery life is achieved thanks to the massive 5,800 mAh battery alongside the stellar power management afforded by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. The ROG Phone 9 Pro doesn't just have a great battery life, it also recharges quickly thanks to 65W charging support. In our tests, we managed to get the phone back to 74% charge from 0% after only thirty minutes. If we take all of this combined, then it's easy to see why the ROG Phone 9 Pro takes the battery life prize. With phone prices climbing ever upward, it's refreshing to see Google's A Series of Pixel phones bringing a little pricing stability to the market. But even though the Pixel 9a retains the $499 starting price of its predecessor while other phones go up in cost — looking at you, iPhone 16e — Google ushered plenty of other changes with this new model. It starts with the Tensor G4 chip inside the Pixel 9a, allowing this midrange phone to offer many of the same AI features that makes the Pixel 9 lineup stand out from other devices. (A couple features, like Pixel Screenshots, require a more powerful version of Gemini Nano than the Pixel 9a has.) You're able to tap into Gemini Live, generate images using text prompts and access a full array of smart photo editing tools on a device that costs a fraction of what you'd pay for pricier flagships. As always, the reason for bargain hunters to turn to the Pixel A device is camera performance. And while the Pixel 9a doesn't feature big camera changes from its predecessor, it still turned in better photos than the iPhone 16e in our camera face-off. The Pixel 9a's support for astrophotography impresses, too. Google has long proven that a low price on a phone doesn't have to mean big sacrifices on features. The Pixel 9a drives that point home once again. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Forbes
18 minutes ago
- Forbes
Following Up On President Trump's Idea Of Renaming AI
President Trump included a seemingly ad hoc remark during his AI Summit speech about whether the AI ... More phrase might need an upgrade. In today's column, I explore the ongoing saga of how the moniker 'artificial intelligence' has been received over its approximately seventy-year history, including a recent offhand remark made by President Trump last week during his AI summit speech, suggesting that perhaps it is time to rename AI to something more fitting. Let's talk about it. This analysis of AI breakthroughs is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here). The Extemporaneous Remark There were several important and impactful announcements about AI made by the White House and President Trump on July 23, 2025, at the Winning the AI Race summit held in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. In addition to signing three Executive Orders regarding AI, President Donald Trump gave a speech to highlight various present and future aspects of AI. During the speech, he seemed to make an ad hoc remark about the phrasing of AI, which caught the eye of some but was generally overlooked by many as an ad hoc mid-thought commentary. Here's the pertinent portion from his speech (excerpted): Observe that the suggestion involved the consideration that 'artificial intelligence' as a moniker is potentially an understatement of what the technology bodes for. The emphasis seems to be that the word 'artificial' is insufficient to adequately capture the immensity of the technology. The word 'artificial' certainly has varying connotations, both favorable and unfavorable. Sometimes, artificial implies that something is a mere imitation. For example, we might say that a bouquet of plastic flowers isn't real; they are merely artificial. That's one way of interpreting the word. Another even less favorable interpretation is that artificial refers to being pseudo or half-baked, such as saying that a person's smile was artificial. Unpacking The AI Naming You might be wondering how we landed on the AI moniker to begin with. The now-popular phrase 'artificial intelligence' has gone through many ups and downs during its roughly 70-year-long history, but managed to survive and endure. There have even been times when the phrase was highly heralded and placed nearly on a pedestal. Other times have not necessarily been so laudatory. We've seen periods where attempts have been made to either maneuver the phrase into the background or perhaps replace it entirely. How did the phrase get started? By and large, the most agreed-upon official starting point occurred in 1955. It was documented in a famous research proposal entitled 'A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence' by J. McCarthy, M. Minsky, N. Rochester, and C. Shannon, August 31, 1955 (excerpts): The essence of the phrase is that we want to devise computers that can exhibit intelligent behavior equal to or surpassing that of human intelligence. Note that the computer doesn't necessarily have to be some kind of recreation of the human brain. If we could bring forth intelligent behavior by simply using a vast assortment of Legos, that would be fine and provide the intended outcome. Tech Names Change Over Time It is not unusual that the names of technology might change over time. A new technology can start with one name, then others are floated as a potential replacement, and a Darwinian battle ultimately determines which one will get the final nod. The skirmish entails a semblance of what society and culture deem worthy and fashionable. Consider a vivid example that illustrates this principle. Today, we readily and without hesitation refer to the online world as the Internet. There was a time in the 1970s, 1980s, and somewhat into the 1990s when other verbiage was fighting for prominence. You might be vaguely aware that a big initial push was to refer to the online approach as the information superhighway. Lots of variations came and went. There was the info superhighway, data superhighway, and electronic superhighway. Notice that the 'superhighway' remained consistent, while the word preceding it was the item in question. This might be likened to keeping the word 'intelligence' in the AI phrase and seeking to find some other first word besides 'artificial'. Catchier ways of expressing the information superhighway also appeared. There was the infobahn, a clever recasting of high-speed autobahns for cars. Another competing phrase was the World Wide Web, abbreviated as WWW. In the end, we have come to use the Internet moniker and seem to have little memory of the lengthy trials and tribulations of coalescing on this vaunted final phrasing. Is the naming of technology important? Yes, it is, indeed. Per a point made famous by American entrepreneur Jim Rohn: 'Vocabulary enables us to interpret and to express. If you have a limited vocabulary, you will also have a limited vision and a limited future.' Various Names For AI AI has had a topsy-turvy history. Moments have arisen that a belief in striking gold and finally achieving full-on intelligence via computers was considered immediately on the horizon. When those hoped-for accomplishments did not arise, the AI moniker shifted to being more so a sour name rather than a badge of honor. Likewise, AI-adjacent technologies, or some would say subsumed technologies, often rose to prominence and seemed to supersede the AI moniker. During the days of expert systems, some eschewed the AI name in favor of referring to expert systems, rules-based systems, knowledge-based systems, and so on. AI was relegated to the backseat as a naming convention. If anything, AI at that time was used mainly to mention robotics and other physically aimed constructs. That line of technology gradually waned and no longer carried the cachet it initially had. Today, seasoned technologists cheekily refer to that tech as GOFAI, good old-fashioned AI. The irony is that there is a chance that the technology will make a comeback. For more on a potential resurgence of rules-based approaches that combine with contemporary AI, known as hybrid or neuro-symbolic technology, see my coverage at the link here. Ideas On Replacing The AI Name Let's suppose that we wanted to find a moniker that would replace the 'artificial intelligence' phrase on a go-forward basis. There are some crucial factors to consider. The new phrase needs to be relatively short. Perhaps two words in length, maybe three at the most. A one-word phrase probably wouldn't be sufficient. The use of four words would be clunky and unwieldy. The moniker would seem to need to include the word 'intelligence' or at least some similarly invocative word. Thus, we would have one word in front of intelligence, or perhaps one word after intelligence, or maybe two such words. It must be catchy and roll off the tongue. The new phrase must be easy to say and easy to write. The nature of its abbreviation would also be an important element in overall acceptance. We want to avoid using a phrase that is already in common use. Any pre-existing phrase will already have baggage associated with it. The use of an existing phrase for an entirely new connotation would undoubtedly sow confusion. There might also be conflicts with trademarks or other awkward entanglements. Floating Some Possibilities Another facet would be to reject the use of the word 'artificial' due to its variation in meaning. Assume that we are desirous of getting rid of artificial from the moniker. We aim to formulate a two-word or three-word catchy phrase that could live up to the assumed bright future of the technology. Noodle on that puzzle. One possibility is to use Machine Learning (ML) or possibly Machine Intelligence (MI) as a replacement moniker. Great, maybe we've found a handy-dandy replacement. Easy-peasy. Sorry to say that it turns out that both of those have already been tried. Generally, in the in-between status of expert systems and modern-era generative AI, there was a great deal of attention on machine learning and devising machine intelligence. The ML moniker especially gained a lot of traction. Nowadays, ML and, to some degree, MI are considered backroom words that are mainly used amongst techies. The customary viewpoint now is that ML and MI are subsets of the broader field of AI. Not everyone concurs with that point. Some believe that it is insulting or perhaps demeaning to classify those vital areas in that manner. Keep The Juices Flowing Let's do more brainstorming. We could try using the phrase Computational Intelligence (CI). It retains the desired word 'intelligence,' and it is a succinct two-word phrase. The issue is that the word 'computational' seems exceedingly flat. You aren't likely to be stirred by the word. The phrase lacks sizzle as a replacement for the AI phrase. What about Synthetic Intelligence (SI) or possible Algorithmic Intelligence (AI)? People generally like the word 'synthetic' as used in the phrases of synthetic biology and synthetic oil. It's considered a cool word. In the case of Algorithmic Intelligence, a nice touch is that the AI abbreviation would be a helpful carryover. The downside is that the word 'algorithmic' isn't any better than 'artificial' in the sense that, if anything, it seems less inspirational. There are a lot more of these kinds of candidates. We might consider Cognitive Computing (CC), which ditches the word 'intelligence' by using a reference to cognition instead. Does the proposed phrase seem rousing? Probably not. And so on. Shifting To Three Words Maybe the two-word sphere is limited and not conducive to our pursuit. Try these three-word-sized possibilities and see if any of them seem fitting: They each seem to be appealing and uplifting. That's good. A noteworthy concern is that they all include 'artificial intelligence' in the phrasing, which might create a bit of chaos. Will people be bewildered as to the difference between speaking of the two-word AI versus any of these three-word variations? Likely. You might know that there is already a movement afoot to switch over to three words. We seem to have gotten to describing AI as potentially becoming Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which is AI on par with human intelligence, and there is Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), denoting AI that is superhuman in intelligence. For my detailed explanation about AI, AGI, and ASI, see the link here. Will AGI and ASI ultimately replace the AI moniker? It's been slow going so far. Status Quo For Now The resistance to changing the AI moniker is bound to be extraordinarily sizable at this time. AI is on the upswing. Some would insist that if something isn't broken, there's no need to try and fix it. The same notion applies to the AI moniker. They would summarily reject the idea that the word 'artificial' needs to be replaced. Stick with what works. Whether this mood remains strident will soon be sorely tested. Here's what I mean. Suppose that all this talk and billions of dollars toward reaching AGI and ASI turn out to be a bust. Imagine that we continue to advance AI, but it doesn't attain AGI, nor does it achieve ASI. A lot of disappointment will ensue. There could be a 180-degree switcheroo that AI suddenly becomes a disappointment and no longer has the aura of greatness. In fact, the phrase might evoke downright fury and angst. Perhaps companies will rapidly drop the AI phrasing from their products and company websites. A bust in AI would be a downer, but you can bet that the pursuit of pinnacle AI would not stop. The dream of reaching pinnacle AI would remain. What might change is the naming of the field. No sense in letting the bitterness associated with a disappointing AI usurp the hope of attaining pinnacle AI. Slap on a new name and proceed forthwith. As Lord Byron so aptly stated: 'But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.' Depending on your belief in how contemporary AI is proceeding, it seems that the revered search for a suitable replacement phrase might indeed arise if the brass ring is not grasped. Time will tell.
