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'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

theguardian.com

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Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#131

Post by surgical_fire »

solenoid0937 wrote: post #2

I'd love to read the mind of an investor that actually falls for this shit. Who actually thinks that Allbirds will see much higher returns because they "have an AI graphics division?" I like AI, but seriously, who actually invests on this basis? Where is the critical thinking? I don't feel sympathy for any investor that gets rug pulled on this stuff.

> I'd love to read the mind of an investor that actually falls for this shit

Investment is mostly gambling with a coat of paint. It just feels slightly more serious than blackjack.

Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#132

Post by gwbas1c »

I remember stores in the 1990s about the "internet-compatible mouse pad" and the lumbar company that changed its name to "lumbar.com."

Granted, I can't find anything with quick Google searches, so I don't know if these are true or just jokes about the hype back then.

Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#134

Post by danaris »

llbbdd wrote: post #117
CobrastanJorji wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My kid was an excited Duolingo user who immediately cut it off entirely as soon as he heard that they were doing something with AI. That was all it took. He heard "Duolingo's AI now" on some YouTube video, and it was immediately dead to him. I don't think people understand just how viscerally negative the perception of AI is for the youth.

Duolingo is a game, they publish papers studying the addictive properties of their product I comparison to slot machines. They are incentivized heavily to not produce fluent learners. If he's being pushed in another direction to learn, for whatever reason, all the better for him.

Duolingo used to be a very effective gamified language learning system.

Then they decided they cared more about profits than providing a quality product.

Now they are best known for their dark patterns.

Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#135

Post by llbbdd »

danaris wrote: post #134
llbbdd wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Duolingo is a game, they publish papers studying the addictive properties of their product I comparison to slot machines. They are incentivized heavily to not produce fluent learners. If he's being pushed in another direction to learn, for whatever reason, all the better for him.

Duolingo used to be a very effective gamified language learning system. Then they decided they cared more about profits than providing a quality product. Now they are best known for their dark patterns.

Yep, I noticed recently that on their official research portal they stopped publishing anything publicly in I think 2021. The last couple of articles before that were along these lines:

https://research.duolingo.com/papers/yancey.kdd20.pdf

I assume all the research after this point is too revealing to publish.

Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#136

Post by j-pb »

autoexec wrote: post #69

I hope these companies aren't in for a shock when the younger generation rejects their brands https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/920401/g... If negative perception towards AI grows, either because of negative experiences after having it forced on them, or as people's utility bills skyrocket, or as the environmental impact becomes more apparent, they might find that what appeals to shareholders doesn'…

[dead]

Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#137

Post by PearlRiver »

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #73
autoexec wrote: post #69

I hope these companies aren't in for a shock when the younger generation rejects their brands https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/920401/g... If negative perception towards AI grows, either because of negative experiences after having it forced on them, or as people's utility bills skyrocket, or as the environmental impact becomes more apparent, they might find that what appeals to shareholders doesn'…

My kid was an excited Duolingo user who immediately cut it off entirely as soon as he heard that they were doing something with AI. That was all it took. He heard "Duolingo's AI now" on some YouTube video, and it was immediately dead to him. I don't think people understand just how viscerally negative the perception of AI is for the youth.

Apparently Samsung sells washing machines with AI. Yeah...

Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#138

Post by shepherdjerred »

Nothing new

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Blockchain_Corp.

> Long Blockchain Corp., formerly known as Long Island Iced Tea Corp... Its wholly owned subsidiary Long Island Brand Beverages, LLC produced ready-to-drink iced tea and lemonade under the "Long Island" brand.

Re: 'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

#140

Post by thunky »

surgical_fire wrote: post #126
thunky wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're being downvoted because you appear to be not asking genuinely I literally said I was asking genuinely. It's either one of two reasons imo: 1. Their son hates "ai slop" and doesn't think AI is useful. 2. Their son is afraid of not being employable. I see #1 the most here. But I suspect it's a front because the posters don't want to admit #2. Hence my question. I figured it's easier for someone to admit someon…

If that was your stance, the question was never genuine. When you ask a question expecting a certain outcome, you are obviously not very curious about the answer. Also, HN is a somewhat large community. I am skeptical about AI for neither reason you mentioned - I think it's a deadend technology and the economics make no sense. A ridiculous waste of resources sucking up all the oxygen in the room. I don't really care…

> When you ask a question expecting a certain outcome, you are obviously not very curious about the answer.

That's an absurd take imo.

So you fall into bucket #1. More generally that AI isn't useful. At least not useful enough to invest time or money in.

Which kindof shows that my question was reasonable. Multiple people on this thread have answered differently.

But still a lot of hostility and anti-tech sentiment.

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