With the launch of DeepSeek, and the long history of using deep to signal AI/deep learning (Google’s DeepMind, IBM’s Deep Blue, OpenAI’s “deep research”), we thought folks would want to hear what naming experts think. The Washington Post agreed and published our team’s take (spearheaded by creative director Katy Steinmetz). Here’s the opener. Read the full story on WaPo.
When the news broke in late January that a Chinese start-up called DeepSeek had supposedly developed cutting-edge AI for a relative song, the story reverberated across the world’s boardrooms and social feeds. But in the corners of the internet devoted to professional naming, a question quickly followed: Have we reached peak “deep”?
True, the d-word has been a cultural touchstone for decades, and the contexts reflect the rich multitudes of the word. A yogi takes a deep breath. A quarterback throws a deep pass. We can do a deep clean or fear the deep state or have a deep thought. We might be deeply in love or deeply in debt, and sometimes both. “Deep” has associations with everything from secrecy and sexuality (Deep Throat) to interplanetary travel (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”).
But lately, one meaning has become trendier than the rest. Close ties to artificial intelligence have led to a surge in “deep” being used for AI-related endeavors, to the point that the word is fast becoming shorthand for “cutting-edge tech”— and is already starting to feel derivative. In 2025, “deep” is to the tech world what the plus sign (+) became a few years ago to streaming platforms such as AppleTV+, Disney+ and Paramount+. …
