The impact of crypto and blockchain is real and will continue to evolve; it’s just not what some tried to sell the public in the early days. The same will happen with AI – the impact will be considerable, but the hype is setting the field up for disappointment.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to unlock massive productivity and creativity. But the hype surrounding AI is reminiscent of the hype we heard around crypto and blockchain years ago. While the impact of AI will be considerable, the promises of revolution may be setting the field up for disappointment.
Marc Andreessen, the CEO of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), recently published a document on the topic. While his article was insightful, it also had many cringe moments. For example, he asked if AI could get involved in everything we care about, and what does he mean by better? Better for whom?
Other claims attributed to AI echo those bestowed upon blockchain and even the internet back in the day. AI will permanently disrupt education, predict medical problems before they happen, and help fight climate change. But are people happy with the state of education these days? Would better predictions improve diagnoses, or could they introduce more risks? And what about all those guzzling data centers?
Noelle Acheson, the former head of research at CoinDesk and Genesis Trading, believes that the AI field has its pick of hypesters as well. She is excited about AI, but worries that the hype could lead to unrealistic valuations, unsustainable structures, and some atrocious behavior.
The crypto ecosystem will benefit from the potential overlaps with AI, and there are many. But crypto has a lot to offer AI as well. In particular, applying lessons learned from the crypto hype could save founders and developers working with artificial intelligence from venturing into dead ends and overstatement.
We should applaud genuine excitement for the motivation it spreads and the hope it delivers. But we should also be wary of opportunistic and manipulative hype that could weaken credibility, disillusion investors, and give detractors plenty of fuel.