Issue 137: Making Sense of the AI Hype Cycle
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re talking about Apple’s new headset. – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Making Sense of the AI Hype Cycle
Last week, the New York Times published a fascinating piece about singularity in artificial intelligence. Singularity is a general idea concerning computer intelligence exceeding human intelligence. It is the moment when machines become more intelligent than we are and is the basis for a great deal of science fiction. With the rapid development (and adoption) of AI platforms this year, media outlets and pundits predict that singularity will occur much faster than we thought.
Playing on fears. For the average person, this all sounds plausible. AI bots like ChatGPT are good. The media is saturated with stories about the power of AI to take virtually any job. Reality is much less extreme. AI remains in its infancy. Our fears about the power of machine intelligence say more about our concerns for the future than the actual computing power of AI. This might change in the long-term, but for the moment, talk of singularity is mostly clickbait.
Fact, fiction, and ethics. One concern about our collective focus on singularity is how it overshadows more pressing issues related to AI. The ethics debate surrounding many aspects of technology is much more critical for individuals and societies than fears over machine intelligence. By focusing on the fear issues, we lose sight of the more pressing challenges we can meaningfully solve today. This idea is covered in a thoughtful essay published by Studio D titled “Considering AI as a Belief System.” Before we let ourselves get caught up in the science fiction concepts of AI, let’s make an effort to focus on what AI says about existing human behavior patterns and belief systems. We can make an impact right now if we choose to.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Perhaps we should all stop for a moment and focus not only on making out AI better and more successful, but also on the benefit of humanity”
– Steven Hawking
CHART OF THE WEEK
This week we are looking at the global growth of electric vehicles. Projections suggest that the market will continue strong growth, but there are some lagging markets, most notably in the US, as Bloomberg highlights.
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
Everyone is looking: Facial recognition technology is controversial and will likely stay that way for some time. That doesn’t change the fact that the industry is booming and expanding, particularly in North America. So it’s about time to address the concerns about facial recognition and make the necessary changes. This week, we took a deep dive into the debate about this powerful technology.
Economic horizon: Circular economies are rising. The idea of an economic model focused on reducing, reusing, recycling, and remanufacturing resources to ensure growth has transitioned from academic theory to a guiding ideology. This week, we took a deep dive into how circular economies operate and explore the benefits the model would have in Dubai. The potential upside is staggering.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
Do we need the post office? The digital age has brought us many things in the realm of paperless communication. This has spelled disaster for post offices worldwide, writes Xische Senior Editor Joseph Dana in the Asia Times. With postal services declining from India to the United States, it’s time to start thinking about how the post office could adapt to the digital age and whether we need a post office in the first place.
The Audible Age. We love paper books but can’t deny how enjoyable audiobooks have become in recent years. According to the Los Angeles Review of Books, the rise of services like Audible and our ever-present smartphones have boosted audiobook growth. There are some questions about how these books will affect our engagement with writing. What does listening to a book at 1.5x speed really do to our mind?