Most AI spending driven by FOMO, not ROI, CEOs tell IBM

(theregister.com)

56 points | by mpweiher 20 hours ago

6 comments

  • dannersy 19 hours ago
    Companies building entire workflows to replace existing ones on technology that is already expensive, is losing money on every use, failed to show it can reliably do the things it claims, has burned unknown billions in advancing marginally, and will almost certainly get exponentially more expensive as the AI providers realize they have no more investors as we precariously navigate possible global recession and trade/supply chain complications.

    What could go wrong?

    • Ekaros 13 hours ago
      Whatever they sell getting adopted, people laid off, actual knowledge dying in companies. And then these companies crashing down when the what was sold does not materialize. And this then cascading elsewhere...
    • cyanydeez 6 hours ago
      the real question is, what else are they going to invest in? Climate change? DEI? Paying taxes?

      lets get real, they're just doing a make work program to avoid real efforts to fix the program.

    • Nihilartikel 15 hours ago
      At least it's not shitcoin crypto!
      • digianarchist 12 hours ago
        This feels more like regular crypto. Has a use and doesn’t disappear but never delivers on its original promise.
        • throwaway314155 11 hours ago
          > This feels more like regular crypto. Has a use...

          That's debatable.

          • digianarchist 48 minutes ago
            It has enabled an entire online commerce in illegal narcotics.
          • altprivacypls 10 hours ago
            I mean...., the only use case I think of, is probably monero or de-regulation.

            I mean, I am no crypto bro. But Monero is definitely an up for privacy as a privacy enthusiast.

            • BobaFloutist 9 hours ago
              It's pretty useful for committing crimes, I guess?
              • djhn 6 hours ago
                Committing crimes can be useful for humanity. Wherever you live, or come from, I can almost guarantee the current regime in your country was the result of treason, revolution or usurpation. It’s also quite likely that this event was a net positive for your country. Every single rebel, revolutionary and freedom fighter is someone elses criminal and terrorist.
              • plsbenice34 1 hour ago
                Everyone that wants to transact privately and without censorship or middlemen is a criminal? This society is so sick that that's a common viewpoint
      • __loam 13 hours ago
        Right, it's just potentially as our more destructive as the thin veneer of legitimacy allows this stuff to steal investment from actually useful things and cause epistemic collapse as it infiltrates our knowledge systems. But at least it's not counterfeit money.
  • protocolture 19 hours ago
    Every CEO and CTO have to be seen to be incorporating AI or else they will lose their jobs. Just like Blockchain a few years ago.
    • EdwardDiego 14 hours ago
      My gut feeling is that shareholders / investors are driving this.
    • danielbln 16 hours ago
      That's hogwash. I've seen in person quite a few successfully implemented LLM backed process automation projects that actually produce better KPIs than the human powered chain that came before.

      How many successful, value-add block chain implementation projects have there been? Has there even been a single one?

      • protocolture 46 minutes ago
        Whats your metric for "Successful, value add" because I get the distinct impression that you are poised to disregard anything from the space.

        Also, nothing I have said disagrees with you. I havent said that all AI projects are useless, just identified the cause of the rush. I have seen some toe curling LLM implementations that could only exist thanks to executive stupidity.

      • dvfjsdhgfv 12 hours ago
        I've worked on such projects, too. They were carefully selected to have minimum impact when the models are wrong.

        In some of these cases, as you say, the KPI was higher, e.g. in classification tasks (where previously a clerk was supposed to label some cases). An LLM produced decent results most of the time - and didn't get tired. But when I looked deeper, it turned out the folks who decided to use LLMs could have used classical ML learning methods as well with similar efficiency.

        I believe we arrived to the point where people just got lazy and just use LLM for anything.

        • Arrowmaster 11 hours ago
          This absolutely seems to be the way things are going. We keep hearing about how 'AI' models have done these amazing things and learn they were specially trained models. Most news reports don't even get into if it was an LLM or ML.

          Then business leaders think they can just pay for a subscription to an all encompassing LLM model and get the same results. It's just an evolution of the long standing tradition of tech being pushed from the top down because the sales guys impressed the C-suites.

  • zkmon 19 hours ago
    Not just AI. Entire science progress is funded by FOMO. Businesses buy some tech only to be competitive. Businesses were happy with their revenue even when there were no computers around. I had to go to moon just because the other stupid guy went there.
  • zahlman 20 hours ago
    I take it the "LOL" in the original title is The Register being The Register, since it doesn't appear to refer to a second company.
    • Nevermark 16 hours ago
      Time to create a “LOL” SPAC (Leverage Our Liquidity, Inc.), squat, and wait for the billionaire class bidding to begin!
  • austin-cheney 20 hours ago
    And nobody is surprised.
  • DataDaemon 18 hours ago
    Most AI spending is just for fun.