就像成千上万的咖啡馆标榜自己拥有“最佳咖啡”一样,人工智能的标签也变得有些虚假。对此,赛富时席执行官马克·贝尼奥夫有话要说。
本周,贝尼奥夫开玩笑地发布了一张欧乐-B充电式电动牙刷的照片,这款牙刷被宣传为具有“人工智能”功能。他在推特上回应道:“我们如何知道已经达到了人工智能炒作周期的顶峰?”承诺产品带有人工智能功能似乎已经成为一种营销噱头,以至于我们甚至模糊了人工智能的初始定义。
沃尔玛在广告中宣传了一款与贝尼奥夫发布的类似的牙刷,售价约为135美元。它标榜的功能很可能是多余的,比如六种不同的设置、智能手机连接,以及“可定制的带压力控制智能环”,当用户刷牙太用力时,就会告知用户。软件公司IBM将人工智能定义为“使计算机和机器能够模拟人类智能和解决问题能力的技术”。可以说,这只是一款高端的牙刷,而不能称之为人工智能,但这确实取决于消费者的看法。
当然,企业在快速发展和公众强烈关注的时期往往会忘乎所以。去年,生成式人工智能经历了转型期:随着投资者向这些工具投入了数十亿美元,生成式人工智能一跃成为热门话题和商品。从那以后,关于人工智能取代员工、提高其工作效率、像科幻情节那样颠覆世界,或像元宇宙一样消逝的理论层出不穷。将近一年后,随着这些工具逐步普及,我们正处于人工智能过度饱和的边缘。
但即使有了炒作,贴了标签,我们仍处于创新的早期阶段。英国《金融时报》的拉娜·福鲁哈尔(Rana Foroohar)在谈到人工智能将改变一切这一观点时表示:“正是这种直截了当的叙述中所包含的狂喜和必然性让我感到紧张。即使你认为人工智能等同于如今的电力或互联网,我们也处于一场高度复杂的、长达数十年的变革的早期阶段,这绝非木已成舟。”
作为赛富时的创始人,贝尼奥夫本人也登上了人工智能的列车,在2023年接受美联社采访时,他称人工智能的发展“不仅是我们这一生中最重要的技术,而且可能是任何人一生中最重要的技术”。贝尼奥夫在同年表示,人工智能的发展浪潮将是“有史以来最大的发展浪潮”。
从那以后,他对这个行业就持负面看法了,在去年冬天的一次销售电话会议中,他就岔开话题。他抱怨人工智能窃取数据和回答不精确,并表示:“这些模型对公司的客户关系一无所知,在某些情况下只是在瞎编。”其抱怨最终导致赛富时股价在电话会议结束后反弹。诚然,在经历了一季的流行之后,人们已经准备好对人工智能进行回调了。在此之前,准备好用智能牙刷刷牙吧。(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-王芳
就像成千上万的咖啡馆标榜自己拥有“最佳咖啡”一样,人工智能的标签也变得有些虚假。对此,赛富时席执行官马克·贝尼奥夫有话要说。
本周,贝尼奥夫开玩笑地发布了一张欧乐-B充电式电动牙刷的照片,这款牙刷被宣传为具有“人工智能”功能。他在推特上回应道:“我们如何知道已经达到了人工智能炒作周期的顶峰?”承诺产品带有人工智能功能似乎已经成为一种营销噱头,以至于我们甚至模糊了人工智能的初始定义。
沃尔玛在广告中宣传了一款与贝尼奥夫发布的类似的牙刷,售价约为135美元。它标榜的功能很可能是多余的,比如六种不同的设置、智能手机连接,以及“可定制的带压力控制智能环”,当用户刷牙太用力时,就会告知用户。软件公司IBM将人工智能定义为“使计算机和机器能够模拟人类智能和解决问题能力的技术”。可以说,这只是一款高端的牙刷,而不能称之为人工智能,但这确实取决于消费者的看法。
当然,企业在快速发展和公众强烈关注的时期往往会忘乎所以。去年,生成式人工智能经历了转型期:随着投资者向这些工具投入了数十亿美元,生成式人工智能一跃成为热门话题和商品。从那以后,关于人工智能取代员工、提高其工作效率、像科幻情节那样颠覆世界,或像元宇宙一样消逝的理论层出不穷。将近一年后,随着这些工具逐步普及,我们正处于人工智能过度饱和的边缘。
但即使有了炒作,贴了标签,我们仍处于创新的早期阶段。英国《金融时报》的拉娜·福鲁哈尔(Rana Foroohar)在谈到人工智能将改变一切这一观点时表示:“正是这种直截了当的叙述中所包含的狂喜和必然性让我感到紧张。即使你认为人工智能等同于如今的电力或互联网,我们也处于一场高度复杂的、长达数十年的变革的早期阶段,这绝非木已成舟。”
作为赛富时的创始人,贝尼奥夫本人也登上了人工智能的列车,在2023年接受美联社采访时,他称人工智能的发展“不仅是我们这一生中最重要的技术,而且可能是任何人一生中最重要的技术”。贝尼奥夫在同年表示,人工智能的发展浪潮将是“有史以来最大的发展浪潮”。
从那以后,他对这个行业就持负面看法了,在去年冬天的一次销售电话会议中,他就岔开话题。他抱怨人工智能窃取数据和回答不精确,并表示:“这些模型对公司的客户关系一无所知,在某些情况下只是在瞎编。”其抱怨最终导致赛富时股价在电话会议结束后反弹。诚然,在经历了一季的流行之后,人们已经准备好对人工智能进行回调了。在此之前,准备好用智能牙刷刷牙吧。(财富中文网)
译者:中慧言-王芳
Not unlike the thousands of cafés that market themselves as having the “best cup of coffee,” AI labels are becoming a bit phoned in. And none other than Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has something to say about it.
This week, Benioff jokingly posted a picture of a Oral-B rechargeable electric toothbrush that was advertised as coming “with AI” capabilities. He tweeted in response, “How will we know we have hit the top of the AI hype cycle?” It appears as if promises of AI features have become a marketing gimmick to the extent that we’ve blurred the definition of what AI even is.
Walmart advertises a similar toothbrush to the one Benioff posted for around $135. It boasts likely unnecessary features like six different settings, smartphone connectivity, and a “customizable SmartRing with Pressure Control” that tells users when they’re brushing too hard. Software company IBM defines AI as “technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities.” The case can be made for this being just a fancy toothbrush rather than AI, but it really depends on the consumer’s take.
Of course, companies tend to get carried away when navigating a period of rapid advancements and intense public interest. Last year, generative AI went through a transformation period, becoming a hot topic and commodity as investors funneled billions into said tools. Theories have since cropped up about AI replacing workers, enhancing their jobs, upending the world in a sci-fi scenario, or fading away like the metaverse. Almost a year later, and we’re at the precipice of AI oversaturation as these tools become more commonplace.
But even with the hype and the label, we’re still at early stages of innovation. “It’s the euphoria and sense of inevitability in this straightforward narrative that makes me nervous,” Rana Foroohar of the Financial Times says of the idea that AI is set to change everything. “Even if you believe AI will be today’s equivalent of electricity or the internet, we are at the very early stages of a highly complex multi-decade transformation that is by no means a done deal.”
As the creator of Salesforce, Benioff himself has been part of the AI train, calling the development “not just the most important technology of our lifetime, but probably the most important in any lifetime,” in a 2023 interview with the Associated Press. Benioff said that same year the wave of AI advances will be the “biggest that anyone has ever seen.”
Since then he’s soured a bit on the industry, going on somewhat of a tangent during a sales call this past winter. Lamenting issues of AI stealing data and being inaccurate, he said that “these models don’t know anything about the company’s customer relationships, and in some cases are just making it up.” His rant ended up leading to Salesforce stock bouncing back after the call was over. Evidently, people are ready to swing back a bit on AI after a season of popularity. Until then, get ready to brush your teeth with a smart toothbrush.