Artificial Intelligence is the new gold rush in the world economy. Investors and governments are salivating and promising all sorts of benefits and riches coming from AI. AI is a significant technology, but before we become intoxicated by all the hype, let’s take a breath and think about our collective actions.
Virtually everyone will be touched by AI at some time in the future, as AI alters our systems and culture. Most of us will not realize what is happening under the covers. The promise is that it will improve our lives. Among the many potential dangers is a premature rush to investment that will kill our economy. A glance into the past demonstrates the threat of investment overexuberance. The Dot Com bust of 2000 and the mortgage crisis of 2008 are examples of money chasing fool’s gold.
AI takes many forms. AI can be predictive by using the data we routinely give to organizations (e.g., when we make a credit card purchase). These predictive AIs are used to detect fraud, let us know when we need to order a new box of water filters, etc.
AI can also take the form of conversational tools. They can be used to hear or read what someone says or writes and then respond. The jury is still out on this skill, because in almost every situation, I’d prefer to communicate with a real person.
Generative AI has garnered the most interest among most age groups. This form of AI creates images, videos, audio, text, and other products. I used generative AI to make the video at the end of this post.
Autonomous AI is used to act independently of humans. This is a truly disruptive technology with lots of downside risk. It is also one type that is overhyped. Self-driving vehicles will happen, but it is naive to think it will be easy. It is one thing for these vehicles to be trained to drive in very circumscribed areas, and it is an order of magnitude to drive outside those areas. Autonomous AI also includes robot warriors, which have long been fodder for sci-fi movies.
Cognitive AI has been around for a while, especially in decision-support systems. However, the promise of this type of AI in medical research and diagnostics is extremely promising.
For more information about the different types of AI: https://diligentic.com/blog/types-of-ai-in-2025
The following video is a simple video to highlight the dangers of treating AI investment like something we buy in a store and put on like a new suit. No one should invest in AI simply to keep up with the Joneses.