I didn’t buy into the AI hype in late 2022. After all, I was still invested in the VR hype. Remember the metaverse? You know, the great new buzzword that replaced crypto and web3. Never mind, I was told the metaverse is dead. Long live AI! Microsoft slapped AIinto everythingthe moment it partnered with ChatGPT, andGoogle quickly followed suit with Bard. Samsung, Intel, and even Apple are falling over themselves to create AI…stuff. It’s only been a year, and I’m already sick of hearing about AI and how it’s shipping in everything. The buzzword has worn out its welcome.
The AI onslaught
Artificial intelligence has been with us for some time, but the past year has seen an explosion of this technology in every aspect of our digital lives. I’m not talking about the simple AI of your Roomba. True generative learning AI based on large language models is taking over the world.
AI has some head-scratch-worthy uses as every corporation attempts to cash in on the new hype. Nothing is safe from it. Take toothbrushes as an example. You read that right – there are nowAI-powered toothbrushes. AnAI mattressclaims to adjust firmness as you toss and turn throughout the night. Weird. But not as strange asMoonwalkers, the AI-enabled shoes.
But wait, there’s more.
If you have ever needed to check your member for STDs but didn’t feel comfortable going to a doctor, AI has you covered.HeHealthcan scan your willy, and AI will tell you how it’s doing. Then there’s AI beekeeping, AI rapping, AI beauty contest judging, and even AI-made beer. AI is everywhere, whether it’s useful or not.
The hype versus the reality of AI
Most of this stuff is unnecessary, and while there are practical applications for the technology, such as powering self-driving cars, most of it is simply a gimmick. I have only seen people use AI to make silly photos for X (formerly Twitter) posts, and those photos are usually the epitome of uncanny valley. Three-armed men and cross-eyed women with digitigrade legs are common “realistic” photos produced by AI. I’ll take an Edward Hopper painting over weird artificial intelligence-generated “art” any day of the week.
But it’s not all about Dall-E’s shortcomings. ChatGPT 4 and its offshoots, such as Bing Chat, Jasper, and Sudowrite promise the moon and deliver mostly garbage. These programs produce tremendously bland copy with little originality or nuance. But it gets worse when it comes to journalism.
Microsoft MSN, also known as Microsoft Start, is one of the world’s most visited news websites. This page has been filled with junk news articles written by artificial intelligence for over a year, as firstreported by CNNback in November. It helped spawn some wild conspiracy theories, such as telling the world Joe Biden fell asleep during the memorial for the Maui fire victims (he didn’t).
This is thanks toAI hallucinations, where large language models make up random things because the words fit together well. The reality of AI has rarely lived up to the hype, yet nobody can stop shipping AI in everything.
Buzzword bingo
Artificial intelligence is more and more becoming a marketing term rather than a useful breakthrough technology. I’ll give credit where it’s due: there are astounding uses for the tech. Cancer screening and agricultural soil analysis are two that come to mind. But aside from self-driving cars or automated monorails, the average consumer is being taken in by the AI hype thanks to all the marketing buzzwords companies are throwing at us.
I saw the same trend back when cryptocurrency was all the rage and hordes of crypto bros were filling discussions with trendy buzzwords. It’s happening again. Just take a look at some of the most overused buzzwords surrounding AI:
How can we escape from AI?
It is possible to avoid the storm of artificial intelligence excess. Start by remaining skeptical of sites that rely on AI to generate content, such asMedicalOutline.com, which was found to be creating potentially dangerous misinformation with articles such as “5 natural remedies for ADHD.”
One way you’re able to tell if something was generated by AI is to check whether it references other works. Except for Bing Chat, generative AI doesn’t reference its sources. If an article is making bold claims but fails to link to other sources to support itself, there’s a chance it was created by AI.
Sometimes, AI is unavoidable and undetectable. Tom Hanks recently had to warn his followerson Instagramabout a fake dental plan ad starring his likeness.
“Beware! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me,” Hanks wrote on his Instagram back in October, overtop an image taken from the fake video. “I have nothing to do with it.”
When one of the world’s greatest Hollywood stars can’t avoid AI, what chance do the rest of us have?
Something else will eventually come along to feed the hype train
All this AI everywhere is ruining it for me. I roll my eyes whenever I hear the latest buzzword jumbled in with some inane product. They did this with crypto and with the metaverse. I will admit I bought into the VR hype and have acquired a nice ensemble of dust-collecting Meta Quest 2 accessories. The metaverse hype fizzled out rather quickly, but I don’t believe AI will go away so soon.
VR is a niche product, and it is costly to get into. It is no surprise that the metaverse hype is non-existent today. AI is a different beast. It is almost free, and anyone can jam it into whatever they’re trying to sell. This means it’s not going anywhere until the next big trendy tech thing comes along. And something will come along.
What it will be is unknown. We may have got some hints at what’s to come at the most recent CES. you’re able to read about ourfavorite new techat the world’s greatest tech show. Unfortunately, most of that tech was also packed full of AI. Oh well. Maybe next year.
