Two Years Later, Generative AI is not even Trustworthy or Mainstream

Here's why I think that.

Hello Everyone,

If you are an AI news watcher listening on X, LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit, you might think that Generative AI adoption is nearing mainstream, but that’s actually very far from the truth.

• Most of the users of ChatGPT, are young people, and 47% of Americans say they have never even heard of ChatGPT.

• Even more surprising not ever a quarter of folk use Generative AI at all at work or school at all.

• While some believe that Generative AI can save time and boost productivity, others recognize it can create even more work and doesn’t always deliver the ROI it’s rumored to. Buyer beware. There might even be an AI bubble mechanics that explains it all.

If you live in the echo-bubble of Techno-optimism lobbying, there’s always another OpenAI evangelist just around the corner. Citing impressive studies who are typically paid consultants who have incentives to do so.

If you are a big user of AI, you are both early (47% of Americans say they have never even heard of ChatGPT) and also surprisingly on time (I would not have expected that 7% of Americans are already using ChatGPT daily, and almost 1 in 5 Americans use an LLM at least weekly) - Ethan Mollick

In this article I wanted to share some infographics and some of my own conclusions on the Report by Oxford and Reuters Institute, AI and the Future of News.

While it’s amusing to learn about Generative AI, its tools and capabilities, or even follow its news cycle, we have to remember that there’s a massive lobbying by Venture Capitalists and BigTech to try to sell their visions and products. Unfortunately it appears to be more top down, than bottom up adoption and all of this is starting to come to light. Of course in reality, if even an academic paper is solely focused on ChatGPT adoption, as a reader, I’m going to be fairly skeptical.

The technological possibilities of innovation are intriguing, but the rollout tends to be slowed by realities on the ground and variables that economists, academics and consultants don’t take fully into account. If consumers find Generative AI fake or scammy, or businesses find implementation of Generative AI systems costly and with uncertain ROI, the whole hype-train will come crashing down. The market for AI in 2024 is starting to feel that way.

I am starting to become an OpenAI contrarian the more I discover about this company. So as a Creator I’m also starting to become ideologically biased in that direction as a writer, curator and reporter.

This survey report by Richard Fletcher and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen has some fascinating content though. They ask:

What Does the Public in Six Countries Think of Generative AI in News?

About the Authors

Dr Richard Fletcher is Director of Research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. He is primarily interested in global trends in digital news consumption, the use of social media by journalists and news organisations, and, more broadly, the relationship between computer-based technologies and journalism.

Professor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen is Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Professor of Political Communication at the University of Oxford, and served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Press/Politics from 2015 to 2018. His work focuses on changes in the news media, political communication, and the role of digital technologies in both.

My approach to summarizing reports:

• My commentary may not always align with those of the authors.

• There are also some interesting facts, that should also be taken with a grain of salt.

• The countries they surveyed are the U.S., Argentina, Denmark, France, UK and Japan. (six countries by no means representative of the average world citizen)

• Sample sizes were around 2,000.

So keep this in mind as we study their findings together. It’s a 42 page/slide report. Some of the results of the survey make surprising revelations about the trust, impact and real traction of Generative AI so far 18 months after ChatGPT was released.

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