10 Reasons Why A.I. May Be Overrated . . . Plus, It Can’t Make Cookies!

It seems like almost ALL the speculation about artificial intelligence is . . . ultimately . . . NEGATIVE, especially the most viral stuff about it dehumanizing everything, and taking all of our jobs.

But what if it’s NOT the FUTURE OF EVERYTHING . . . and is basically just a homework-cheating machine.

NPR has an article called “10 reasons A.I. may be overrated,” and maybe it’s wishful thinking . . . but it does put some stuff in more grounded context.

Here’s the list:

1.  The artificial intelligence we have now isn’t actually that intelligent.  It can copycat humans . . . but isn’t capable of generating great new ideas.

2.  A.I. lies.  There’s a big problem with A.I.-generated falsehoods and errors, which experts are calling “hallucinations.”

3.  Because A.I. isn’t very intelligent, and hallucinations make it unreliable, it’s proving incapable of doing most . . . if not all . . . human jobs.

4.  A.I.’s capabilities have been exaggerated.  Several promising stories about A.I.’s triumphs have proven bogus after researchers looked under the hood.

5.  Despite all the media and “investor mania” about A.I. over the last few years, A.I. use remains surprisingly limited.  For example, in a recent study, only around 5% of businesses had used A.I. in the previous couple of weeks.

6.  We have yet to find A.I.’s killer app.  Most applications for now are in personalized marketing and automated customer service.  Not very exciting.

7.  Productivity growth remains super disappointing.  And generative A.I. may not help it get much better anytime soon.  One economist predicts that generative A.I. won’t boost productivity or economic growth much within the next decade.

8.  A.I. may not be improving as fast as many people claim it is.  In fact, A.I. may be running out of juice.  A.I. models have already consumed the entire internet, so what’s left to feed this growing A.I. baby?

9.  A.I. could be really bad for the environment.  The data centers that power A.I. require an ungodly amount of electricity.  They already consume enough energy to power a small country.

10.  A.I. is overrated because humans are underrated.  One expert says, “A lot of people in the industry don’t recognize how versatile, talented, multifaceted human skills and capabilities are.”

And finally, someone did an experiment to see if two different A.I. programs . . . ChatGPT and DishGen . . . could make a tastier batch of chocolate chip cookies than a human.  And they FAILED.

They didn’t do anything crazy . . . like adding asparagus and motor oil . . . but according to the judges they were just fine and “a little boring.”  And the ChatGPT ones were “too chewy.”

All that said, we don’t know where we are in the evolution of A.I.  We may be well into the second act of the story . . . or we may still be on the first page.

(NPR)