@inproceedings{heinisch-2025-terminologists,
    title = "Terminologists as Stewards of Meaning in the Age of {LLM}s: A Digital Humanism Perspective",
    author = "Heinisch, Barbara",
    editor = "Cardoso, Henrique Lopes  and
      Sousa-Silva, Rui  and
      Koponen, Maarit  and
      Pareja-Lora, Antonio",
    booktitle = "Proceedings of the 2nd LUHME Workshop",
    month = oct,
    year = "2025",
    address = "Bologna, Italy",
    publisher = "LUHME",
    url = "https://preview.aclanthology.org/ingest-luhme/2025.luhme-1.5/",
    pages = "49--56",
    abstract = "Digital Humanism calls for a reconfiguration of the development of digital technologies that embeds interdisciplinary collaboration, ethical reflexivity and critical scrutiny into both the design and evaluation of these systems. From a Digital Humanism perspective, terminologists play a vital role in safeguarding language understanding in specialized domains where clarity and consistency are critical (in both monolingual and multilingual contexts). This conceptual paper, therefore, examines the role of terminologists (and terminology) in the era of LLMs, with a focus on their function as stewards of meaning in specialized communication. The study draws on the principles of Digital Humanism to critically assess how terminologists can counteract various ethically and epistemologically problematic features characterizing current LLM development and deployment. In this regard, terminologists can ensure terminological precision, help preserve linguistic diversity and knowledge excluded in LLMs. They may also support inclusive, transparent and accountable digital infrastructures. By documenting system and variety-specific terms, they counteract the homogenizing tendencies of LLMs and challenge epistemic monopolies. Their expertise bridges disciplines and reinforces that language is not neutral, but culturally and institutionally embedded. As educators and stewards of meaning, terminologists empower users to critically engage with LLM outputs, ensuring that language technologies remain ethically grounded and responsive to human contexts and values."
}