The Nooacene: defining and naming the epoch of artificial intelligence across cultures and languages

The rapid spread of artificial intelligence worldwide raises a fundamental question: should we consider our current era as a new historical period requiring its own designation? This article argues that AI represents not only a technological revolution, but may constitute a civilisational threshold that invites reconsideration of existing periodization frameworks. Drawing on contemporary theories of historical temporality and interdisciplinary analysis, we identify converging markers – technical, social, institutional and epistemological – that signal a break in the way humanity conceives, exercises and shares intelligence, creativity and knowledge. This framework is part of a cultural and conceptual periodization of civilisational ruptures, beyond geological transitions alone. We propose Nooacene, from the Greek noos (mind, intelligence) and kainos (new), combined with Latin artificialis, as a candidate chrononym to designate the era of artificial intelligence. This term meets three criteria: lexical unity, understood as the condensation of a complex concept into a stable, fluid and easily memorable form; morpho-semantic coherence, which harmoniously combines roots from a historically shared scholarly tradition, ensuring both structural and semantic continuity; and mnemonic and suggestive strength, namely the capacity of a word to evoke a lasting symbolic and cultural resonance. Through the analysis of how existing scientific chrononyms have been adapted across linguistic contexts – particularly in Southeast Asian languages – we identify three main strategies (semantic translation, phonetic transcription, and hybridisation) and suggest that Nooacene possesses the structural properties required to adapt through these established mechanisms, thus indicating its potential for transcultural adaptability.