AI Snake Oil

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(Perplexity) “AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference” by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor is a comprehensive examination of AI’s capabilities, limitations, and potential misuse. The authors aim to empower readers to distinguish between effective AI applications and “snake oil” – AI that doesn’t work as advertised.

Key points of the book include:

  1. Predictive AI often fails to deliver on its promises, especially in areas like predicting human behavior, academic success, crime likelihood, or civil wars.
  2. Generative AI, like ChatGPT, has valuable applications but also limitations. It can produce convincing-sounding content on any topic, but lacks a true source of truth and may generate misinformation.
  3. AI cannot effectively solve complex social issues, such as content moderation on social media platforms, due to the nuanced nature of human communication and values[.
  4. The authors argue that we should be more concerned about how people use AI rather than AI acting autonomously.
  5. The book highlights the need for better regulation of the AI industry and cautions against leaving AI’s future solely in the hands of tech companies.
  6. While critical of many AI applications, the authors remain optimistic about the future of generative AI and its potential benefits when used appropriately.
  7. The book provides guidance on how to spot AI hype and make informed decisions about AI-based products and services.

Overall, “AI Snake Oil” serves as a balanced examination of AI’s current state, debunking myths while acknowledging genuine progress, and emphasizing the importance of critical thinking in the face of AI hype.

Citations:
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210319458-ai-snake-oil
[2] https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-snake-oil-how-to-spot-hype
[3] https://erictopol.substack.com/p/ai-snake-oila-new-book-by-2-princeton
[4] https://www.aisnakeoil.com/p/introducing-the-ai-snake-oil-book
[5] https://www.techpolicy.press/ai-snake-oil-separating-hype-from-reality/