AI Scams Are the Point

[BootinUp]

Propaganda and deceit are a feature of AI, not its downfall.

Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor open their new book, AI Snake Oil, with a thought experiment: Imagine a world where “vehicle” was the only word we used to refer to every mode of transportation. Debates about environmental impact, safety, cost, and so on would be confusing because we would be conflating bikes with spacecraft or trucks with buses. The field of “vehicle technology” would be rampant with scams, propaganda, deceit, and an overwhelming mountain of bullshit. “Now replace the word ‘vehicle’ with ‘artificial intelligence,’ and we have a pretty good description of the world we live in,” Narayanan and Kapoor declare.

Narayanan and Kapoor, both Princeton University computer scientists, argue that if we knew what types of AI do and don’t exist—as well as what they can and can’t do—then we’d be that much better at spotting bullshit and unlocking the transformative potential of genuine innovations. Right now, we are surrounded by “AI snake oil” or “AI that does not and cannot work as advertised,” and it is making it impossible to distinguish between hype, hysteria, ad copy, scam, or market consolidation. “Since AI refers to a vast array of technologies and applications,” Narayanan and Kapoor explain, “most people cannot yet fluently distinguish which types of AI are actually capable of functioning as promised and which types are simply snake oil.”


Narayanan and Kapoor’s efforts are clarifying, as are their attempts to deflate hype. They demystify the technical details behind what we call AI with ease, cutting against the deluge of corporate marketing from this sector. And yet, their goal of separating AI snake oil from AI that they consider promising, even idealistic, means that they don’t engage with some of the greatest problems this technology poses. To understand AI and the ways it might reshape society, we need to understand not just how and when it works, but who controls it and to what ends.

There are broadly three main types of AI in Narayanan and Kapoor’s taxonomy: prediction, generation, and content moderation. Predictive AI is used to inform decision-making by anticipating future events, though the pair convincingly document how it is fundamentally in-capable of doing this despite widespread use across society. Generative AI is the object of the most recent wave of AI hype, capable of synthesizing and producing media. Content moderation AI refers not only to algorithms responsible for assessing social media platform policy violations, but also to those that personalize user feeds and experiences.

https://newrepublic.com/article/188313/artifical-intelligence-scams-propaganda-deceit

[2naSalit]

1. I suspect...

That AI was released when it was to avail itself of the novelty aspect, where everyone is curious and tries it only to infect the entire internet with it, just in time for a major election.

It's why critical thinking is a problem for the criminal cabal who wants to rule the world.

[Blue_Tires]

2. AI is cancer