3 ms·

Almost every post here explicitly distinguishes "Artificial Intelligence" from machine learning and advanced statistics, or at least avoids clumsily confusing t

Almost every post here explicitly distinguishes "Artificial Intelligence" from machine learning and advanced statistics, or at least avoids clumsily confusing the puff of marketing with what we really do as computer scientists. We all know better here, right? So why don't we robustly challenge it? As with the word "hacker" - which we've somewhat reclaimed - the fact that a misuse has entered common circulation is not sufficient reason to shrug and accept. Next time a marketing, media or recruitment type uses the words "AI". please take a moment and a little courage to politely correct them. If "AI" stays in Hollywood where it belongs it'll help ensure these emotive brouhahas are less common and we can get on with creating actual social value from code.

ipsum2 5y ago
There's no point in fighting linguistic drift. Language changes to be more imprecise over time as laymen pick up terminology and use it in a broader sense than initially defined.
bonoboTP 5y ago
Unfortunately, funding is often tied to playing into it a little. It's unfortunate, and a good balance must be found, but that's how it is. You see it in academia as more and more AI institutes pop up and AI master's degree programs are offered. This is no new phenomenon, though. You can read up on why Dynamic Programming and Linear Programming got called like that. Because "programming" was hot then, but optimization wasn't. And "dynamic" is a cool sounding word. That's all. Anyone who needs funding (whether in academia, in a startup, as a job seeker, or a promotion-seeker) needs to sell themselves. And some terms work, and those who are willing to use them will win. Again, a reasonable compromise must be found, but just like in sales, simply being a very honest vacuum cleaner salesman won't be a good strategy.

3 ms·

Almost every post here explicitly distinguishes "Artificial Intelligence" from machine learning and advanced statistics, or at least avoids clumsily confusing t

by nonrandomstring 5y ago

ipsum2 5y ago
There's no point in fighting linguistic drift. Language changes to be more imprecise over time as laymen pick up terminology and use it in a broader sense than initially defined.
bonoboTP 5y ago
Unfortunately, funding is often tied to playing into it a little. It's unfortunate, and a good balance must be found, but that's how it is. You see it in academia as more and more AI institutes pop up and AI master's degree programs are offered. This is no new phenomenon, though. You can read up on why Dynamic Programming and Linear Programming got called like that. Because "programming" was hot then, but optimization wasn't. And "dynamic" is a cool sounding word. That's all. Anyone who needs funding (whether in academia, in a startup, as a job seeker, or a promotion-seeker) needs to sell themselves. And some terms work, and those who are willing to use them will win. Again, a reasonable compromise must be found, but just like in sales, simply being a very honest vacuum cleaner salesman won't be a good strategy.