AI Has Already Peaked

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the growing disillusionment with AI, particularly in the context of its impact on sales and consumer perception. It explores the Gartner hype cycle, the recent surge of AI news and models, and the study finding that consumers are tired of AI. The article also analyzes the implications for companies heavily focused on AI, such as The Browser Company, and how Apple has applied AI intelligently in its products.

🙋 Q&A

[01] AI's Impact on Sales

1. What does the article say about the impact of AI on sales?

• The article cites a report from Washington State University researchers that "AI kills sales", which surprised the author as they love AI.
• The author immediately removed references to AI from their apps, particularly in obvious places like the paywall, due to this growing disillusionment with AI.

2. What are the reasons given for the disillusionment with AI?

• The article mentions an "absolute explosion of AI news" in the last few weeks, with various new AI models being released by different companies.
• The article also cites a study finding that consumers do not like AI and are "sick and tired of it", as evidenced by comments on Hacker News.

3. How does the author view the future of companies heavily focused on AI, such as The Browser Company?

• The author is growing increasingly pessimistic about the future of The Browser Company, as they are not making money and the author suspects the AI focus may be off-putting to their user base.
• The author believes that AI should be "invisible" and that customers care more about having a browser that works rather than the underlying technology.

[02] Apple's Approach to AI

1. How does the article describe Apple's approach to AI at their WWDC event?

• The article notes that Apple did not fall into the "AI hype cycle" and was applying AI smartly in its products, such as the improved email sorting in the Mail app and the enhanced photo search and image featuring.
• The author was impressed by the "calculator" app, which can solve equations without the need for a traditional spreadsheet, and believes it should be integrated into the existing freeform app rather than being a standalone feature.

2. What is the author's view on Apple's "Apple Intelligence" feature?

• The author believes that customers are getting tired of having AI "forced down their throats" and that they want apps to use AI intelligently, rather than just adding more AI assistants to the mix.

3. How does the author compare the current AI bubble to the Dot Com bubble?

• The author acknowledges the argument that the current AI bubble may be similar to the Dot Com bubble, where the companies that survived ended up becoming giants.
• However, the author argues that in the Dot Com bubble, the companies were selling services on top of the internet, whereas in the current AI bubble, many companies are just selling AI itself, which may be more difficult to monetize.