Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by JackOfCrows 684 days ago
On the other hand it is genuinely hilarious that what it took to crater tech stocks was someone going "Hey are you guys ever going to make money with any of this AI crap?" "I mean, if you keep giving us billions of dollars, maybe in like a decade. But uh keep doing it, they're totally going to think any day now."
3 comments
gruez 684 days ago
Isn't that every bubble? The 2022 tech bubble was basically this but without the AI narrative. The 2008 GFC was partially caused by giving mortgages to increasingly flaky borrowers. The dotcom bubble was basically the AI bubble but with "the internet" instead of AI.
link
AnthOlei 684 days ago
What’s the source of this? Where can I read more?
link
JackOfCrows 684 days ago
I mean start here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/18/ai-bubb...
link
AnthOlei 684 days ago
I was under the impression that you were referring to a specific event that happened over the weekend, not a general vibe you were feeling
link
snakeyjake 684 days ago
>"Hey are you guys ever going to make money with any of this AI crap?"

The most common answer I have heard for that question has been, so far, "AI brand ambassadors".

The thought is that by sucking up every scrap of personal data on you, a company can pay an AI brand ambassador firm to create an avatar to relentlessly pummel you in every plane of your existence with marketing and very carefully obfuscated conversation in order to make you buy something.

Think: autoplaying ads on every website and in every app with a "person" who starts talking to you like they know you, friend requests from strangers on every social media site you frequent who appear human and then once they trick you into engaging with them steer the conversation towards how awesome a product is, and comments and replies in media you consume that use every trick in the book to appear organic while namedropping a product or service.

There are only two ways to pay for the billions of dollars all of this AI nonsense has cost and will continue to cost: making end-users pay to use it (unlikely) or bombarding end users with ads and skimming off a sliver of any sales.

It's going to be a nightmare.

link