3 ms·

Exactly. "AI" used by the media, by marketing, and by science fiction has created its own concept, and that concept having consequences beyond the technologies

• bonoboTP 6y ago
  That's not what I meant. I mean that overusing the term "AI" is kinda bad and annoying but I think it's not doing the heavy lifting in the rapid adoption of these technologies and the buzz it creates. Even if we just talked about large-scale high-performance statistical data processing, or "algorithmic automation" (AA) it would still be used everywhere, it would just be more difficult for laypeople to come to grips with it. It's a bit as if people around 2000 were saying it's stupid to talk about "cyberspace", it's not some new space out there, it's just people sitting behind their computers connected by wires! But that term was not the reason for the hype. Now, sure the label AI does contribute its share to the hype, but this stuff is so good that whatever way you call it (as long as it's not too many syllables), it will become a buzzword just for that reason. It's like euphemism treadmills. You can rename the concept, but it will re-acquire the same meanings. I mean "convolutional" managed to become quite a buzzword itself (even though it's a well defined technical term), as it appeared so often alongside really sexy stories.