GenAI June
by Jay CuthrellShare and discuss on LinkedIn or HN
This week we take a look at GenAI, hot takes, and a punditry index
Housekeeping
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Looking ahead
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Now, back to our regularly scheduled Fudge Sunday newsletter! 🤓
Getting Informed
GenAI (and A.I. in general) appeared to be a bit of a punching bag in the popular press this week. Will the articles age well?
For one perspective, I’ve sifted through a sample of ~100 tech newsletters so far this year. I found a few interesting data points.
- 41 references to Generative AI in the subject
- 28 references to Gen AI (with a space) in the subject
- 16 references to GenAI (no space) in the subject
- Most references to GenAI (either spelling) ramped up in the past two months
GenAI Hype
What’s different this month and this week is the pace of publishing. For example, consider that I wrote Tech Journalism (2012) when the demarcations of VC deal flow and tech blogs were muddy at best.
As for hype, we’ve been here already. The hype is not a new thing.
- The End of the Inflated Expectations October 8, 2023
- Arguably Illusory April 7, 2024
I have experienced real benefits from GenAI. When I have a software itch to scratch, GenAI helps.
But GenAI isn’t magic and all-knowing, yet. Far from it.
For example, I asked a simple question of all the major GenAI players this week. Who am I?
Hot Takes
The hot takes on GenAI varied this week. Deep web communities shared particularly spicy memes. 🌶️
I for one still await the decennial return of subservient chicken with a GenAI-flavored UX in 2024. Don’t let me down King technology team.
In the public interwebs, however, GenAI hot takes seemed to seek clicks or engagement or activations. IMHO, the majority of these were boring or banal.
What was interesting to me was when pundits took positions. These are circumspect lukewarm takes and worth comparison.
Punditry Index
A quick non-exhaustive sample of pundits shows a range from sky-is-falling-down declarations to not-so-fast word choices. I will focus on two opposite ends of the spectrum.
The “Kai-Fu Lee” post lede invokes a variation on impending impact due to GenAI predicted long ago by a visionary VC in the ancient times of [ checks notes ] 2017. Here, 50% of jobs will somehow be displaced in just ten (now three) short years!!
On the other hand, the “Partial Regurgitation” post highlights just how much longer those three (let alone ten) short years might turn out to be in practical terms. More precisely, the displacement of humans on a short return on investment timeline is less likely than a VC might hope it will be.
I’d argue that a reasoned consideration is somewhere in the middle. YMMV.
What will be the next big thing in GenAI, hot takes, BYOAI, and punditry?
Until then… place your bets.
Disclosure
I am linking to my disclosure.
p.s. As I’ve gotten older, I have come to appreciate getting snail mail. If you have time to drop me a postcard, I’m going to be scanning the picture side of the postcards I’ve received and link to a Fudge Sunday Reader Postcards gallery (with suitable redactions and filtering for greater anonymity) as a newsletter trailer of sorts. Stay tuned! ✉️
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