The age of AI BS

Maybe AI will kill us all. Maybe it will steal our jobs. Maybe it will be awesome and improve our lives beyond our imaginations. Or, perhaps, this is all hype, and it’s doomed to go the way of the metaverse. Amid all the unknowns that surround artificial intelligence, one thing is true: Almost everyone is a little bit lying about it at the moment.

Companies know investors have an appetite for all things artificial intelligence right now, and they’re eager to show off how they’re integrating the new tech into their businesses — or at least say they are. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s chair, Gary Gensler, recently warned about « AI washing, » or companies giving off a false impression that they’re using AI so they can amp up investors. And while some companies are simply exaggerating the tech they do legitimately use, others have taken it a step further. In March, the SEC settled charges against a pair of investment advisors that were accused of making « false and misleading statements » about how they’re using AI. The regulator said one of the firms, Delphia, claimed it used AI to « predict which companies and trends are about to make it big and invest in them before everyone else » when, in fact, it didn’t. The other, Global Predictions, falsely called itself the « first regulated AI financial advisor, » per the SEC. The firms agreed to pay a combined $400,000 in civil penalties without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings.

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