How to Spot the Real AI Behind the Buzzwords
By Kraig Kleeman
“These days, AI is often less about artificial intelligence and more about artificially inflated ideas. Let’s explore what separates the wheat from the chaff.” – Erik Severinghaus, CEO
Introduction
Nowadays, every new technology product appears to have some “AI magic” added. Yet, it is unclear how much of this is truly sophisticated tech and how much is simply smart advertising. I am Erik Severinghaus, I started the company Bloomfilter and I am its chief. A lot of my work time has been searching for really valuable things in artificial intelligence among many distractions. I want to give you advice from my own experience on how to recognize if an AI technology is genuine or if it’s only pretending to be something special.
Let’s Talk About What AI Really Is
Artificial intelligence fundamentally involves designing machines capable of learning and deciding independently, similar to how humans think. Nowadays, this includes everything from programs predicting what you like to buy to automated chat systems handling customer support questions effortlessly.
What AI Can (and Can’t) Do
Knowing what AI can do is important to see beyond the excitement. This is what AI offers now:
- True AI improves as time goes by, absorbing lessons from both its achievements and mistakes without requiring a coder to adjust its programming for each minor change.
- Complex problem solving: Imagine AI as a very smart young person who can work with data and understand it quicker than humans, identifying complicated patterns that we cannot notice.
- Dealing with human language, AI can now compose texts very persuasively and converse nearly like a person. That’s the reason it’s starting to replace many jobs in customer support and content making.
But AI isn’t perfect. Here are some things it’s still grappling with:
- Common knowledge, which people often assume as given, frequently becomes an obstacle for artificial intelligence.
- The quality of an AI depends on its training data. If the data is bad, the AI will not function well.
- AI that has been taught in one field might struggle and need a lot of additional training to perform well in a different area.
How to Recognize Real AI
- When examining a product that says it uses artificial intelligence, remember these tips:
- Companies that employ actual AI technologies are capable of providing clear descriptions of their systems’ functioning, which is frequently backed by robust data and occasionally corroborated by research reviewed by peers.
- If a product becomes more intelligent as time passes, this shows that true AI is functioning.
- True artificial intelligence systems can explain which data they utilize and the manner of its usage.
Warning Signs It Might Be All Hype
Now, for the red flags:
Buzzword Salad: If a company throws around tech jargon without clear explanations, be skeptical.
A static AI: If an artificial intelligence doesn’t get better when you use it more, perhaps it’s not truly artificial intelligence.
Human Crutch: If it requires constant human help, it’s not fully automated.
A Personal Anecdote
Consider the instance of Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” innovation. Upon initial introduction, it was celebrated as a significant advance in AI shopping technology. However, it actually depends a lot on people watching from a distance. True AI should really cut down the requirement for this kind of monitoring and not just hide it with complicated technical terms.
Wrapping Up
As we go ahead, it may become harder to tell the real AI apart from the overhyped version. Understanding what constitutes genuine artificial intelligence — which includes clearness, flexibility, and accuracy of data — will assist you in filtering out sensational news and recognizing actual advancements. Always come with a questioning and careful view, so you will not only escape being let down but perhaps find something truly groundbreaking.
Going through this area might be as difficult as walking in a busy tech fair, but with these understandings, I hope you will become more sure when recognizing genuine AI innovation. Keep in mind that true AI can transform our world – we should welcome the change with care.
About Erik Severinghaus
Erik Severinghaus is a highly successful entrepreneur, author, and mountaineer. If his accomplishments and aspirations were to draw inspiration from natural icons, he could be described as a fusion of Mark Zuckerberg’s visionary approach to business and Tony Stark’s electrifying approach to saving humanity. He possesses keen business acumen and a flair for captivating customers, investors, and marketing partners.
Erik’s entrepreneurial spirit is boundless, as evidenced by his track record of founding, operating and exiting multiple ventures that have created a combined $600M in value. Erik’s investment skills are striking. He was a founding investor in Hyde Park Angels which recently helped ShipBob achieve unicorn status. He raised $6M startup capital for his newest venture, Bloomfilter, which is growing by triple digits, quarter over quarter.
As an endurance athlete, Erik has conquered some of the world’s tallest peaks, including Mt. Everest in 2018. In his public appearances, Erik is quick to discuss that learning to navigate through the valleys in his business life is what has led him to properly navigate the victories.