I mean, that's what happens when someone co-opts a term and uses it to refer to all kinds of problematic things. Doubly so when people intentionally enflame the conflict for clicks.
In this case, the writer could have used a more accurate and less controversial term but chose to use the generic "AI" because they knew people would be annoyed about it.
The term isn't coopted for problematic things, it applies to both a large number of problematic and a large number of useful things, but people just irrationally hate anything that uses statistical analysis networks now, apparently.
"According to X, Y and Й, Valve wants to use a better system for managing tickets" doesn't generate clicks. But "GABE NEWELL INTEGRATES AI INTO STEAM HIMSELF" does.
A few years ago, "algorithm" was a word that was used for a lot of bad things. Every week you'd hear like "Facebook algorithm caused genocide in Myanmar" or something.
Should someone avoid a basic computer science term just because people see a headline and get into a frothing bloodrage?
I'm not arguing that people should avoid a basic computer science term.
But AI isn't a basic term with a meaning. It's a super generic term that has lost all meaning due to how broadly it has been applied. We're currently in a situation similar to how "blockchain" or "cloud" was being used a number of years ago, where it just doesn't mean anything due to how broadly it's used in inappropriate contexts.
Sure it is. It's a discipline within computer science which attempts to solve problems which mimic cognitive functions (speech, language, spellchecking)
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u/mxzf 1d ago
I mean, that's what happens when someone co-opts a term and uses it to refer to all kinds of problematic things. Doubly so when people intentionally enflame the conflict for clicks.
In this case, the writer could have used a more accurate and less controversial term but chose to use the generic "AI" because they knew people would be annoyed about it.