A Healthy Perspective on AI Advances

June 11, 2018

We see a lot of write ups that hype AI, like this piece at The Verge on DeepMind’s venture into chess playing.

An article at DataCenterNews, “Expert Opinion: 5 Myths Surrounding the ‘AI Hype Train’” warns us that, despite such performances, AI has a long way to go before it becomes ubiquitously useful. We’re told:

“While the technology represents an exciting new utility with a wide variety of potential use cases, it does not herald the arrival of a brave new sci-fi future. … While there is no doubt that the nascent technology shows cause for excitement, it’s also clear that for the vast majority of businesses, the time to embrace AI is still somewhere down the road.”

Here are the five myths the article busts: AI is going to replace all jobs; AI is a singular, tangible product; Every enterprise needs an AI strategy; AI technologies are autonomous; and AI will quickly become smarter than humans (yikes!) See the article for the reasons each of these ideas is (as of yet) untrue. The piece concludes:

“AI represents an exciting collection of emerging technologies, and for many businesses, it will eventually make a big impact. Through productivity and personalization improvements as a result of AI, global GDP in 2030 will be 14 percent higher – the equivalent to US$15.7 trillion. As AI achieves more widespread adoption, it’s important for business leaders not to get distracted by shiny objects and keep their eyes on their business objectives for now.”

We concur. Do not succumb to the hype and buy into AI technology if it is not (yet) right for your business. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more developments because some of Google’s professionals are not completely comfortable with the use of the firm’s smart software for war fighting.

Cynthia Murrell, June 11, 2018

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