AI: Not so fast. Nor so slow. RTZ #313

...keeping an eye on the AI prize

Thank you, Google AI research DeepMind CEO, Sir Demis Hassabis (and Congratulations on the Knighthood!)! For the ‘Slow and Steady’ underlying message laid out to the FT in “Huge AI funding leads to hype and ‘grifting’, warns DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis”. At this early point in the AI Tech Wave. As the FT outlines:

“The surge of money flooding into artificial intelligence has resulted in some crypto-like hype that is obscuring the incredible scientific progress in the field, according to Demis Hassabis, co-founder of DeepMind. The chief executive of Google’s AI research division told the Financial Times that the billions of dollars being poured into generative AI start-ups and products “brings with it a whole attendant bunch of hype and maybe some grifting and some other things that you see in other hyped-up areas, crypto or whatever.”

“Some of that has now spilled over into AI, which I think is a bit unfortunate. And it clouds the science and the research, which is phenomenal,” he added. “In a way, AI’s not hyped enough but in some senses it’s too hyped. We’re talking about all sorts of things that are just not real.”

Like perhaps this for instance. As the FT continues:

“The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot in November 2022 sparked an investor frenzy as start-ups raced to develop and deploy generative AI and attract venture capital funding. VC groups invested $42.5bn in 2,500 AI start-up equity rounds last year, according to market analysts CB Insights. Public market investors have also rushed into the so-called Magnificent Seven technology companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet and Nvidia, that are spearheading the AI revolution. Their rise has helped to propel global stock markets to their strongest first-quarter performance in five years.”

I’ve been echoing in the same direction of late in “The Ups and Downs of New Tech. RTZ #310”, and “Selling AI before it’s time. RTZ #308”.

Even though, as with Sir Hassabis, I couldn’t be more optimistic about the scientific progress, and the long-term net value of AI technologies over the next few years. And am enthusiastic about the rapid commercialization of these technologies by Nvidia, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Apple in particular. Not to mention Mistral, Anthropic and so many others.

We need to keep an eye on the secular AI technology advantages, and be more steely-eyed with the more euphoric, and pessimistic stances around AI. Adjust for the in-between.

Slower and Steadier is fine. Especially when the emotional pendulums swing too wide in either direction. And echoes as well my views on Google ultimately being successful in augmenting search with AI, despite current debates on the topic.

So thank you, Sir Demis Hassabis, for saying what needed to be said. Best wishes for your efforts at Google/Alphabet. Stay tuned.

(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)