The authors also note that the AI industry is following a similar trajectory to the crypto industry, with companies pivoting to AI as the crypto market crashes. They warn that the environmental impact of AI, particularly in terms of carbon emissions and water usage, is a growing concern. The article concludes by questioning the sustainability of the current AI boom, suggesting that it may be heading towards a bust similar to previous AI winters.
Key takeaways:
- The AI industry is experiencing a boom, with venture capitalists investing heavily in AI startups, despite overall VC funding for startups dropping by half.
- Many AI systems are not as advanced as they seem, with much of the work being done by underpaid workers in English-speaking countries in Africa, rather than by the AI itself.
- The primary use case for AI at present appears to be generating content for spamming, including spam web pages, books, news sites, phone calls, reviews, tweets, videos, and sales sites.
- Despite the hype, many AI systems simply do not work as advertised, and the technology appears to be running out of steam, with even major players like Microsoft seeing little impact from their AI investments.