Instead we’ve got AI slopes, chatbot psychosis, and tools that prompt you to write email newsletters instantly. Maybe we got what we deserved. Or maybe we need to re-evaluate what AI is for.
That’s the truth at the heart of a new series of stories published today Hype correction. We accept that AI is still the hottest ticket in town, but it’s time to reset our expectations.
As my colleague Douglas Jannat puts it in the package’s intro essay, “You can’t help but wonder: When the wow factor wears off, what’s left? How will we see this technology a year or five from now? Do we think it’s worth the costs, both financial and environmental?”
Elsewhere in the package, James O’Donnell looks at the ultimate AI hypeman, Sam Altman, in his own words. And Alex Heath explains the AI ​​bubble, laying out for us what it means and what we should be looking for.
Michelle Kim analyzes the biggest claim of the AI ​​hype cycle: that AI will completely eliminate the need for some classes of jobs. If Chat GPT can pass the bar, surely that means it will replace lawyers? Well, not now, and maybe never.
Similarly, EDD Gent tackles the big question around AI coding. Is it as good as it sounds? Turns out the jury is still out. And elsewhere David Rottman looks at the real-world work that needs to be done before AI materials are discovered.