alignment

The arrangement of things in a straight line or in the right positions.

• Check the alignment of the wheels.
• The printer needs a small alignment adjustment.
• Poor alignment made the two edges difficult to join.

How to use it: alignment of something (The alignment of the shelves looked wrong.); in alignment with something (Keep the edge in alignment with the guide.)

Similar words: positioning, arrangement

Common phrases: wheel alignment, correct alignment, text alignment

How well an artificial intelligence’s goals and behavior match human values and ideas of right and wrong.

• AI alignment concerns how systems follow human values.
• The team studies alignment in powerful language models.
• Better alignment could help the system avoid harmful choices.

Common phrases: ai alignment, alignment problem, alignment research

A category describing how a game character behaves, especially whether they are good, evil, or follow rules.

• My character has a good alignment.
• The chart shows nine possible alignments.
• Does your alignment affect the choices you can make?

Common phrases: character alignment, alignment chart, choose an alignment