Really surprised by this LTT video. They were direct on the points that lately, in the mainstream, there has only been rubbish.
AI isn’t a scam, but damn, most of the businesses surrounding it sure are.
It may not be a scam per se, but it certainly is a misnomer at this point… it’s one of those words (like “enterprise” or “pro”) that have been appropriated by marketing and devoided of any meaning. AI as a word will gradually die while people gradually realize it doesn’t mean anything. Marketing consumes words (and people too).
AI does mean something, but it’s quite disappointing.
Even mundane algorithms like A* pathfinding are technically under the umbrella of Artificial Intelligence. However the public’s perception of what AI means constantly shifts to be “whatever computers can’t do today”.
You are totally correct. This is one of the first mainstream publications I’ve seen really explain to people what “AI” is and what it isn’t. Good to see this kind of content.
Great video, he breaks everything down really well…
I might have to start linking to this video rather than trying explain what AI is vs what AI isn’t to those who like to make general statements like “AI is a scam!”.
Tangential fun fact:
Snake oil is a real thing, that actually helps with the some very specific problems. But it has to be made a specific way from a specific snake. We associate the term with scams because of the large number of scammers that advertised fake snake oils, or advertised it being useful for tons if things it wasn’t.
My point is, many of the most effective scams rely on something that has a kernel of truth.
Imagine being in that line of work and having to tell people you’re a “snake oil salesman.”
If I arrange rocks in the desert to represent the math being done for calculating thought, can the rocks experience? No, but I can, and arranging rocks is a shitty experience.
You are all the rocks.
You lie? You are all bugs.
Chatgpt… please summarize the Gartner hype cycle for a 5 year old
