Since GAN appeared on the scene, delivering products such as ChatGPT and Dall-E, there has been a great deal of excitement and hype over what these technologies will become. Will they become our servants, solving all our problems for us, or will they become our masters, keeping us as pets for as long as we are useful to them? Will they disappear into a post-truth black hole of their own making, or will they lie around unused and rusting because they’ve failed to deliver any value at all?

The thesis of this talk is: none of these outcomes is correct. AI technologies really do have value, but not the value we are expecting.

Starting with a historical and technological perspective, Jules explores the state of the current AI landscape and how it came to be this way. He unpacks the reasons behind the previous three “AI winters”, and describes why another, even colder winter is inevitable (where a lot of people are going to lose a lot of money). Finally, he points the way towards a more adult and less hysterical understanding of AI’s promise, and how to invest in these technologies despite the current, misguided mania.