HACKER Q&A
📣 vednig

Why is everything an AI now?


Over the past few years, it feels like every product or service is "powered by AI." From apps that organize your groceries to toothbrushes that analyze your brushing habits, AI seems to be the go-to label for anything remotely techy.

But here's the thing, most of these problems have already been solved (or could be solved) by much simpler programs.

Do we really need AI to suggest what’s next in our to-do list? Often, it’s just a rules-based system or a straightforward algorithm in disguise, but marketing it as AI sounds fancier.

Sure, AI is transformative in industries like healthcare, climate modeling, and finance, but slapping "AI" onto basic solutions feels like a shortcut to attention or consumer intrigue. The line between innovation and overhype is getting blurry.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are we devaluing AI by overusing it for trivial problems, or is this just part of its integration into mainstream tech?

  👤 casslin Accepted Answer ✓
-Lot things can be redone via an oriented approach, particularly where large amounts of text/data involved, or where content generation is needed;

-lot other things do't need AI.

-however now is early & AI = where money & attention is, so ppl tend to try integrate AI into everything

-over time this will get figured out.

👤 simonblack
Latest fad terminology. Up there with "User Friendly"* or "Fuzzy Logic" as meaningless waffle by Sales droids.

* Somebody on the Net said of 'User Friendly' that it could be replaced by 'Lemon Scented' with no loss of meaning whatsoever. "Powered by AI" is no different.

👤 not_your_vase 

  > Why is everything an AI now?
This is where the money is currently, plain and simple.

  > Are we devaluing AI by overusing it for trivial problems,
We are devaluing AI by saying LLM==AI. (/rant)
👤 solardev
It's just marketing.