Entry 19 of 44
Capable / Capability
capabilis — able to contain; capere (to take, hold, contain)
Latin
From Latin capabilis, from capere: to take, hold, contain. Root concept: the ability to receive, contain, or accomplish something specific.
Established meaning
Having the power to do something; possessing sufficient ability. A capability is a defined, demonstrable ability. Capability assessments in military and defense contexts mean verified, reproducible ability to execute specific functions.
AI industry deployment
'Frontier capabilities,' 'dangerous capabilities,' 'capability evaluations.' Used both as achievement markers (what a model can do) and risk markers (what a model might do). The same term covers demonstrated ability and theoretical potential, conflating distinct categories.
Semantic gap
Demonstrated versus potential
Conflating 'can do' with 'might do' enables both overclaiming (for marketing) and over-warning (for regulatory positioning). The ambiguity serves the industry's ability to claim different things in different contexts.