We tend to think that markets reflect consumer choice. But the artificial-intelligence boom has been powered by the investment decisions of concentrated capital rather than by consumer demand.
Arguably though, people have constantly been asking for ways to connect and share information with people near and far. Town criers, sign boards, books and letters — the internet is arguably just an extension of these long pursued human interests, things humans have been asking for.
AI doesn’t match in the same way. I guess some people do want sycophants, right or wrong. But I think most people want truth, and want the environment to not be plundered.
I just re-watched Willy Wonka from 1971 - there is a scene in there where they ask the computer to find a golden ticket and it converses in a very AI-like fashion. The 1968 movie 2001 definitely went hard on HAL, the “Intelligent Computer”. People have been pushing hard advancing the technology any way they can since even before then.
Arguably though, people have constantly been asking for ways to connect and share information with people near and far. Town criers, sign boards, books and letters — the internet is arguably just an extension of these long pursued human interests, things humans have been asking for.
AI doesn’t match in the same way. I guess some people do want sycophants, right or wrong. But I think most people want truth, and want the environment to not be plundered.
I just re-watched Willy Wonka from 1971 - there is a scene in there where they ask the computer to find a golden ticket and it converses in a very AI-like fashion. The 1968 movie 2001 definitely went hard on HAL, the “Intelligent Computer”. People have been pushing hard advancing the technology any way they can since even before then.