I think this sort of skepticism is healthy — I think explainability and overfitting doesn't get enough attention for example — but AI strikes me as a bit differ

I think this sort of skepticism is healthy — I think explainability and overfitting doesn't get enough attention for example — but AI strikes me as a bit different from crypto in that it's creeping into our everyday lives. Instructors are wrestling with assignment submissions, you wrestle with the uncanny valley in customer support lines, and people are posting about their troubled relationships with Bing in various places. If crypto had been showing up everywhere to the same extent, I think these discussions would be a bit different. That's not to say there isn't rampant hype in AI but I do think there's a continuum from blatant fraud to truly life-changing tech with plenty of grey, and AI is closer to the genuine end of the spectrum. My guess is AI isn't monolithic either, just as I don't think crypto was. Some areas of AI will probably end up having been overhyped more than others. I agree with the sentiment of the post that sometimes I think semi-fraudulent to outright fraudulent overhype is a defining feature of our time. I wish the institutions responsible for public discourse would approach things accordingly.