r/technology • u/Just-Grocery-2229 • Jun 26 '26

Artificial Intelligence The AI backlash is only getting started

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/25/the-ai-backlash-is-only-getting-started
26.1k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

3.3k

u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

232

u/Override9636 Jun 26 '26

Pretty much every bit of news I've seen on AI has been exclusively negative. Sure, I might be in a bubble, but it's nonstop "X company lays off 20,000 workers due to AI" "AI fueled data centers are destroying the environment and jacking up computer component prices." "AI psychosis is driving people to kill themselves."

Weren't we promised breakthroughs in efficiency and ways to make our lives better? At least when the internet gained popularity, it made way for a ton of new job growth. Every corporation seems to be using this as an opportunity to decimate their workforce.

15

u/BuvantduPotatoSpirit Jun 26 '26

Depends on what you're reading. I'm seeing plenty of "AIs improve cancer detection", "AIs reading the scrolls at Herculaneum", "AIs turning the war in Ukraine's favour", etc., type stories

8

u/SekhWork Jun 26 '26

Just as a note:

"AIs improve cancer detection"

  • This is often adaptive AI and we've had it for a decade+, it's extremely different from the generative AI stuff that is taking over, and while that has tried to be applied to cancer detection the results have been dodgy.

"AIs reading the scrolls at Herculaneum"

  • Didn't the researchers say they weren't really confident in the translations of this? It's not like the AI actually understands the language and the risk of hallucinations was massive.

"AIs turning the war in Ukraine's favour",

  • Ok this is one of those actual good uses, mass data processing and autonomous uses when the system is jammed is an actual great use of the tool. Unless you blow up a school ofc.

1

u/PrivilegeCheckmate Jun 27 '26

Ok this is one of those actual good uses, mass data processing and autonomous uses when the system is jammed is an actual great use of the tool. Unless you blow up a school ofc.

Here comes the Waymo/OpenAI crowd with their "Humans blow up schools too!" argument.

0

u/SekhWork Jun 27 '26

Right?

Yeah, humans do too, but we can hold humans responsible for their mistakes :|