AI: Big Hat, Some Cattle
March 17, 2020
Andreessen-Horowitz recently published the article: “The New Business Of AI (And How It’s Different From Traditional Software) that pulls back the curtain on AI startups. Locklin On Science delves further into AI startups with the aptly named post: “Andreessen-Horowitz Craps On ‘AI’ Startups From A Great Height.” AI startups are similar to other startups in that there is a lot of hype over a subpar product.
The biggest mistake people are making is that AI is really machine learning. Machine learning is the basis for AI and the terms should not be used interchangeably. Another problem is that AI can be treated like traditional software, however, this is far from the truth. AI software requires a cloud infrastructure which has mounds of hidden and associated costs. Also businesses believe once they launch an AI project, then humans are out of the equation. Nope!
“Everyone in the business knows about this. If you’re working with interesting models, even assuming the presence of infinite accurately labeled training data, the “human in the loop” problem doesn’t ever completely go away. A machine learning model is generally “man amplified.” If you need someone (or, more likely, several someone’s) making a half million bucks a year to keep your neural net producing reasonable results, you might reconsider your choices. If the thing makes human level decisions a few hundred times a year, it might be easier and cheaper for humans to make those decisions manually, using a better user interface.”
AI or machine learning startups also are SaaS companies disguised as a software business. They might appear to offer a one time out-of-the-box solution that only requires the occasional upgrade, but that is a giant fib. Machine learning can have a huge ROI, but all the factors need to be weighed before it is implemented. Machine learning and AI technology is the most advanced software on the market, thus the most expensive. It might be better to invest in better, experienced software and humans before trying to step foot into the future.
Whitney Grace, March 17, 2020
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