Reads of the Week: Feb. 5-11
Nuanced news from the week, straight to your inbox. AI edition.
Welcome to Nuanced News, a weekly look at the content that encourages you to think in unique ways about a complex world. I may not agree with this content. In some cases that’s why I select it. I also try to separate these individual pieces from the creator’s full body of work. We are all inconsistent beings, after all.
The recent launch of various generative AI tools have been fascinating, and so has the cascading series of tremors taking place in their wake. It’s too early to say how real these tools are just yet, but it has brought the optimists and pessimists out in full force.
I’ve been skeptical that these tools are more sizzle than steak. What if they are mostly the result of machine learning algorithms that can imitate intelligence by plagiarizing the internet’s vast swaths of human output? Or perhaps this is simply what the first iteration of AI had to look like. I am undecided, as I often like to be.
Like most things, the media is the frame in which we will process this technology, although I encourage all of you to spend some time learning how to use these tools on your own. From Microsoft’s new Bing search, ChatGPT, StableDiffusion, and whatever else comes to the fore, they do present some interesting paradigm shifts. Where this goes from here is anyone’s guess.
Media: Magazine publishes serious errors in first AI-generated health article
People get a lot of their health information from the web. As insurance costs rise and grow more complex, it’s often a lot easier to google a remedy and try it out at home. What happens when the AI content creator is on the fritz and nobody on the editing team notices the mistake? Hopefully, nobody gets hurt. When Sports Illustrated was caught publishing AI mistakes, the company said the following.
"Along with many media companies, we are exploring various AI software that can be additive to our editorial teams' workflow. An initial pilot collating previously published archival content demonstrated the potential of AI coupled with editors and writers. These early experiments are a work in progress. Based on these learnings and ongoing monitoring, we will continue to refine our use of these tools as part of our workflow, which has been and will always be anchored in editorial oversight."
The Nuance: As I typed, I discovered another example of AI writers running amok. It turns out, many newsrooms don’t have enough editors, and most editors are not trained to edit AI-generated content. Just like today’s internet warrants a healthy amount of skepticism, AI is not going to be any safer in terms of faulty information. At least for now.
Business: Microsoft thinks AI can beat Google at search — CEO Satya Nadella explains why
The recent AI developments threaten to tip over the current iteration of the tech industry chess board. You can see that from the boldness that’s present in this interview. It is rare to see among the calculated communications strategies of modern business. Microsoft was late to search. Late to smartphones. Late to cloud. And early to AI, which wasn’t easy to do. Regardless of who wins with AI, Microsoft is climbing back to relevance.
The Nuance: Google has been working on AI for years, but somehow, Microsoft is eating their lunch. They’re also a bit cocky about it. This competition has clearly made silicon valley a lot more interesting. On top of this, Google’s slow AI adoption and disappointing demo has had massive financial consequences for them. How will they respond now?
Tech: The AI boom that could make Google and Microsoft even more powerful
The Wall-Street Journal did an interesting writeup on the level of trust we are inherently placing in the companies that build our AI future. As we’ve seen over the last decade, not everything coming out of silicon valley has been to our benefit.
The Nuance: This article was nuanced enough on its own, so I share a few thoughts instead. After years of buying up competition and printing cash, government scrutiny is on the menu and innovation has stalled in silicon valley. Is this the opportunity for these companies to turn their eyes back toward building interesting technology, or is it a chance for them to become even more dangerous?
Health: New study uses AlphaFold and AI to accelerate design of novel drug for liver cancer
I found this in my AI research from a few weeks ago, but it seemed worth the mention. There are medical problems that boil down to math problems, and this is an optimistic example of how AI can do a lot for humanity.
The Nuance: As a society, we’ll need to figure out how to balance the pros and cons of AI proliferation. Medical companies, media companies, banks and schools, among other institutions, all now have a new vector to change the way we live. Incentives usually drive outcomes, so profit will likely lead the way. However, we must remember to balance the good side of the equation in our mind as we try to decide where we stand on the issue.
Honorary Mentions: Non-AI Stuff
Doctors Aren’t Burned Out From Overwork. We’re Demoralized by Our Health System.
An interesting op-ed in the NYT touched on how doctors have been affected by the ugly underbelly of America’s medical system.
Don’t miss this one. A detailed look into how developers, homeowners and monied interests clashed in a community in central Florida.
“Open Source” Seeds Loosen Big Ag’s Grip on Farmers
If you care about the food we eat, this story should warm your heart. Seeds are an often overlooked aspect of our supply chain, and it’s good to see an open system overcome a closed one.
Utilities are lobbying against the public interest. Here's how to stop it.
This conversation outlines a watchdog report on energy utilities lobbying against renewable energy. This outcome is predictable, but worth remembering.
Tweets to Talk About
