The Dumbest AI Moments of 2023

The Dumbest AI Moments of 2023

AI’s effect on our world will be dramatic, but nothing will ever be as dramatic as the collective freak-out we all had about the emerging technology in 2023. With billions of dollars on the table and the promise that AI will transform every corner of modern life, everyone from businesses, to regulators, to regular people spent the last year jockeying to get in on the Action.

Along the way, we’ve been dealt some class-A techno-stupidity. Countless businesses, lonely men, and an entire generation of online grifters built an empire on boring AI art and courses promising that you, too, could use the technology to make easy Money.

Humane’s AI-Focused Mobile Device Fiasco

A buzzy startup called Humane attracted a year’s worth of attention with a new AI-focused Mobile device pitched as a revolutionary gadget. The $700 device clips onto your shirt and forgoes a screen in favor of voice commands powered by ChatGPT. It also has a little projector that will beam small amounts of text onto surfaces, which is admittedly pretty neat.

The company launched its new product with a self-serious steve Jobs-esque video going over the device which, to many observers, demonstrated that the AI Pin and the company that makes it are a little ridiculous, or at least unfocused.

AI Leaders’ Plea to Save the World from Themselves

In May, over 350 AI executives, researchers, and industry leaders signed a letter pleading with society to stop their technology from destroying the world. “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside Other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

bing‘s Unhinged Interactions and ChatGPT-Powered Conversation Robot

If you said ten years ago that microsoft’s bing search engine would get a voice and a personality, you would have been laughed out of the room. But thanks to the company’s multi-billion dollar partnership with OpenAI, that’s exactly what happened. In February, microsoft unveiled bing Chat, a ChatGPT-powered conversation robot.

An Unsettling Profile of OpenAI‘s sam altman

OpenAI lead sam altman has been a player in Silicon Valley for well over a decade, but 2023 was the year most people got their introduction to the CEO. The New York Times did an unsettling profile of Altman titled “The Self-Styled Messiah Building a Supper-Inelligence to Capture the World’s Wealth.”

elon musk‘s Journey with Anti-Woke Chatbot, grok

elon musk commissioned an anti-woke chatbot, grok, which was released as part of the premium package on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. Musk said that this is because the Internet “is overrun with woke nonsense” and promised to make grok better.

Regulators’ Grandstanding and Pressure Amid Fears of AI Apocalypse

Widespread fears that AI might start some kind of apocalypse put pressure on regulators to, at the very least, appear to be doing something to stop it. One of the more pronounced examples came in May when the AI leaders were summoned for a hearing.

Lawyers Fined for Bogus AI-Written Legal Documents

By now you’ve probably heard that ChatGPT has a penchant for making up lies and stating them as fact, or what experts refer to as an AI “hallucination.” That didn’t stop lawyers from having ChatGPT spit out legal documents. Unsurprisingly, the AI fabricated some quotes and citations out of thin air.

AI Floods a Popular Scifi Magazine with Junk Content

We knew the ease of AI content production would fill the Internet and the world with junk, but it came as a bit of a surprise just how quickly that happened. In February, less than six months after ChatGPT’s release, a popular Science fiction magazine called off submissions because it was hit with a tidal wave of AI content.

Sports Illustrated’s Controversy with Alleged AI-Written Articles

One of the more groan-inducing AI events of the year came courtesy of Sports Illustrated, a magazine so old that people were impressed by the fact that it included photos in its early days. In November, the publication sparked outrage when reporters discovered that some articles published seemed as if they were generated by AI.

OpenAI‘s Corporate Spectacle: The Firing and Rehiring of sam altman

Just when it seemed like 2023’s AI News couldn’t get any more absurd, OpenAI hand-delivered a grade-A batch of corporate spectacle. In November, the company’s board of directors ousted sam altman, a man who is without a doubt one of the most successful CEOs in recent memory.

AI has undoubtedly left its mark on 2023, not just with groundbreaking advancements, but also with some truly dumbfounding moments. From misguided Products to ill-conceived chatbots, and from regulatory grandstanding to flooded publications, AI‘s impact has been both groundbreaking and baffling. As we continue to push the boundaries of AI, it’s clear that we must learn from these laughable missteps, and strive for a future where AI is not just transformative, but also reliable and responsible.

Source: gizmodotech