3. What is Generative AI? Why give the tech industry the benefit of the doubt when they are all but claiming godhood—that they’ve created a new form of life never seen before? Why give the tech industry the benefit of the doubt when they are all but claiming godhood—that they’ve created a new form of life never seen before?
4. Strategies for using Generative AI Sceptical Believers are the ones who take the biggest risks, because they don’t appreciate the pace of change of a paradigm shift Sceptical Believers are the ones who take the biggest risks, because they don’t appreciate the pace of change of a paradigm shift
5. Be aware of the abundance of bullshit and snake oil The AI industry and tech companies in general do not have much historical credibility. The AI industry and tech companies in general do not have much historical credibility.
6. Only use specialised Generative AI tools that you’ve vetted You do not want to become the legal test case for the applicability of a particular law or regulation to AI. You do not want to become the legal test case for the applicability of a particular law or regulation to AI.
7. Strengthen your defences against fraud and abuse The AI provides the method. Bitcoin provides the rewards. The AI provides the method. Bitcoin provides the rewards.
8. Prefer internal tools over externally-facing chatbots You might end up adding novel and innovative security holes to your own products and that’s a kind of innovation nobody wants. You might end up adding novel and innovative security holes to your own products and that’s a kind of innovation nobody wants.
9. Prefer transparent and open generative AI These AI models could be filled with ticking time-bombs. These AI models could be filled with ticking time-bombs.
10. Use it primarily for derivation, conversion, and modification The most productive way to use generative AI is to not use it as generative AI. The most productive way to use generative AI is to not use it as generative AI.
11. Are they breaking laws or regulations? With financial stakes this high, you should only trust what you can verify. With financial stakes this high, you should only trust what you can verify.
12. Copyright protections are diminished Purely AI-generated works provide very little creative or financial benefit in general because of their non-exclusivity. Purely AI-generated works provide very little creative or financial benefit in general because of their non-exclusivity.
13. Much of the training data is biased, harmful, or unsafe You can’t fully trust the output of generative AI because of the massive size of their training data sets. You can’t fully trust the output of generative AI because of the massive size of their training data sets.
14. Stochastic plagiarism AI plagiarism could cost you a fortune. AI plagiarism could cost you a fortune.
15. Hallucinations, or AI don’t do facts Language models are completely unsuitable for use as information systems because of their pervasive ‘hallucinations’. Language models are completely unsuitable for use as information systems because of their pervasive ‘hallucinations’.
16. Much of the output is biased, harmful, or unsafe You’ll sound like a racist granddad who has learned how to write generic LinkedIn posts. You’ll sound like a racist granddad who has learned how to write generic LinkedIn posts.
17. Code quality The cost-saving automation of generative AI is likely to be very expensive in the long run. The cost-saving automation of generative AI is likely to be very expensive in the long run.
18. Shortcut reasoning Their reasoning is nothing more than an intertwined nest of shortcut upon shortcut. Their reasoning is nothing more than an intertwined nest of shortcut upon shortcut.
19. Fear of Missing Out With rare exceptions, there is no first-mover advantage in software. With rare exceptions, there is no first-mover advantage in software.
20. The Elegiac Hindsight of Intelligent Machines Safe, for the tech industry, is too slow. Safe, for the tech industry, is too slow.
21. Afterword: a straw to grasp I’ve never before experienced such a disparity between how much potential I see in a technology and how little I trust those who are making it. I’ve never before experienced such a disparity between how much potential I see in a technology and how little I trust those who are making it.
22. Further reading What to read next after The Intelligence Illusion What to read next after The Intelligence Illusion
23. References The list of references for The Intelligence Illusion The list of references for The Intelligence Illusion