People Loved the Dot-Com Boom. The A.I. Boom, Not So Much.

Silicon Valley executives promise that artificial intelligence is going to radically change everyone’s life for the better, starting just a few minutes from now. A.I. is described as the new electricity; it’s even bigger than fire. Your grandparents heard pretty much the same thing.

This time, though, the masses have not been won over. Surveys and workplace data suggest why. More than a third of YouGov respondents said they were concerned that A.I. would end human life on earth, and another poll found most people would not pay extra to put A.I.

on their devices. In a large National Bureau of Economic Research survey, 80 percent of firms reported that A.I. was having no impact on their productivity or employment. Sam Altman said there was more resistance to “the diffusion, the absorption” of A.I. than he expected and that adoption felt “surprisingly slow.” Industry leaders worry that the debate has turned against them.

United States, Silicon Valley

a.i, dot-com, silicon valley, sam altman, yougov, national bureau, productivity, employment, adoption, existential risk