The Prophets vs the Profits of Ai
IT'S MORE THAN JUST SCIENTIFIC FERVOR THAT DRIVES THE HYPERBOLE ABOUT Ai
People degrade themselves in order to make machines seem smart all the time. Before the crash, bankers believed in supposedly intelligent algorithms that could calculate credit risks before making bad loans. We ask teachers to teach to standardized tests so a student will look good to an algorithm. We have repeatedly demonstrated our species' bottomless ability to lower our standards to make information technology look good …
― Jaron Lanier, You Are Not a Gadget
Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version of Google. The ultimate search engine that would understand everything on the web. It would understand exactly what you wanted, and it would give you the right thing. We're nowhere near doing that now. However, we can get incrementally closer to that ...
— Larry Page, quoted on Forbes.com
So it seems Larry Page sees the standard for being intelligent in terms of understanding what's on the web, figuring out what we're looking for, and returning the right information to us. Sort of like a Super-Librarian, I guess. Not very "intelligent" but at least it's pretty benign.
In contrast, Elon Musk paints a potentially very dark side to artificial intelligence, one he feels needs watching and strong oversight as it develops.
I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. I mean with artificial intelligence we’re summoning the demon.
— Elon Musk at MIT’s AeroAstro Centennial Symposium
Yet, they are both invested heavily in the development of Artificial Intelligence or AI or both — take your pick. How does this come to be?
As I see it, the answer is not to be found with the Prophets of Artificial Intelligence but in the envisioned profits of Ai.
Those who stand to profit big from the investment dollars that flow into the AI industry, naturally hype the potential of Artificial Intelligence and AI. They can do so either by extolling its potential virtues or by decrying its potential dangers. Both these approaches stimulate publicity and public attention and a belief in the coming "singularity". And it matters not a whit to the Profits of AI which alternative view is pursued.
A recent report asserts that the artificial intelligence (AI) industry will reach a compound annual growth rate of 17.2% by 2023. The market is set to swell to a whopping $14.2 billion over the next six years, up from just $525 million in 2015..."
— From BusinessInsider.com
So many are so vested in the Profits of AI that all semblance of perspective or scientific sense is being cast to the wind, to be replaced or overshadowed by a gruel of public relations spin, marketing hyperbole, and sci-fi fantasy.
What we’ve seen appear recently are hundreds of puff pieces published daily about artificial intelligence and Ai. Overwhelmingly, the evolutionary timeline depicted moves from smart machines to what we commonly think of as true "artificial intelligence.” However, the only examples provided are straight out of science fantasy. Not only that, but they are presented as though they are or soon will be a reality.
Yea, right. Just like manned space flight to the outer reaches of the universe.
— Phil Friedman
Copyright © 2017-2023 by Phil Friedman — All Rights Reserved
Notes: This article is one in a five-part series, first published in 2017 — at the beginning of my seven year tenure in the intellectual gulag of those who doubted the hyperbole spouted by the Prophets of Ai. To find the other four articles in the series, go to: Show Me the Intelligence.
An earlier version of this piece appeared on beBee.com 2017.