We have all seen or read the many posts on how AI will make life so much easier….from writing papers to complex problem solving and we have also seen or read the many dire predictions from false info to taking over the world…..but this post is the more down to earth drawbacks.
Let’s start with the most probable outcome….the loss of jobs…..the latest to announce jobs loss….CNN
CNN announced today that it would be laying off another 100 staffers, or three percent of its overall workforce — a decision that CEO Mark Thompson billed as part of an overall modernization and pivot-to-video effort.
And yes, in his memo to CNN employees — as published in full by The Hollywood Reporter — Thompson was sure to mention that a “strategic push into AI” will be part of that effort, too.
In the memo, Thompson wrote that he wants the networkto “regain a leadership position in the news experiences of the future.” This mission “will include a strategic push into AI,” per the document, “to determine how best to safely harness this emerging new technology to serve our audiences and deliver our journalistic goals more effectively and responsively.”
Thompson didn’t elaborate further on any specific AI plans, but the mention is significant. CNN is a massive and deeply influential news organization, and where and how it uses AI — or, conversely, where and how it chooses not to — has the potential to set off significant dominoes across the journalism and broadcasting industries.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/cnn-firing-employees-push-into-ai
Then there is the fragile electric grid and the stress AI will put on it…..
The artificial intelligence boom has had such a profound effect on big tech companies that their energy consumption, and with it their carbon emissions, have surged.
The spectacular success of large language models such as ChatGPT has helped fuel this growth in energy demand. At 2.9 watt-hours per ChatGPT request, AI queries require about 10 times the electricity of traditional Google queries, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit research firm. Emerging AI capabilities such as audio and video generation are likely to add to this energy demand.
The energy needs of AI are shifting the calculus of energy companies. They’re now exploring previously untenable options, such as restarting a nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island power plant that has been dormant since the infamous disaster in 1979.
How about the monetary boom that AI could provide?
The current frenzy over AI resembles the early days of gold being found in California in the 19th Century, with everyone rushing into the AI sector hoping it’ll make them rich.
But there’s a huge issue: Goldman Sachs analysts have concluded, according to The Economist, that AI just isn’t making any serious money yet.
Tellingly, Goldman found that companies that hoped to profit from using AI to boost productivity — ranging from H&R Block to Walmart — have seen their shares vastly underperform the broader stock market since the tail end of 2022.
AI’s market penetration is also surprisingly shallow. Only five percent of businesses are using AI, according to a US Census Bureau report flagged by The Economist, and that number is only projected to rise to about 6.6 percent by this autumn.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-industry-money
AI may not be making money but it is saving money by eliminating jobs….so there is that.
Lastly the biggies…..what is AI doing to the internet?
Google researchers have come out with a new paper that warns that generative AI is ruining vast swaths of the internet with fake content — which is painfully ironic because Google has been hard at work pushing the same technology to its enormous user base.
The study, a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper spotted by 404 Media, found that the great majority of generative AI users are harnessing the tech to “blur the lines between authenticity and deception” by posting fake or doctored AI content, such as images or videos, on the internet. The researchers also pored over previously published research on generative AI and around 200 news articles reporting on generative AI misuse.
“Manipulation of human likeness and falsification of evidence underlie the most prevalent tactics in real-world cases of misuse,” the researchers conclude. “Most of these were deployed with a discernible intent to influence public opinion, enable scam or fraudulent activities, or to generate profit.”
Compounding the problem is that generative AI systems are increasingly advanced and readily available — “requiring minimal technical expertise,” according to the researchers, and this situation is twisting people’s “collective understanding of socio-political reality or scientific consensus.”
https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-researchers-paper-ai-internet
As you can see there are drawbacks that need addressing if this stuff is to be around awhile longer.
In closing a little ditty about the assassination attempt….
Facebook owner Meta had some very awkward questions to answer after its AI assistant denied that former president Donald Trump had been shot, even though he absolutely was indeed wounded by a gunman earlier this month — bizarre, conspiracy-laden claims that highlight the technology’s glaring shortcomings, even with the resources of one of the world’s most powerful tech companies behind it.
It’s especially striking, considering that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Trump’s immediate reaction to being shot “badass” and inspiring, contradicting his company’s lying chatbot.
In a blog post on Tuesday, Meta’s global head of policy Joel Kaplan squarely placed the blame on the AI’s tendency to “hallucinate,” a convenient andresponsibility-dodging synonym for bullshitting.
https://futurism.com/meta-ai-trump-wasnt-shot
Is there any thoughts at all?
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”