TSM

henry , 23 hours ago to random

Hmm... Are we catching the first vibes of AI hangover? Despite the many Instagram reels I watched recently expressing deep disappointment in AI automation, I came across two interesting documents that expose AI automation struggles at different scales. The first one is an article, “America's $1T AI Gamble” by Joseph Politano, which highlights that despite the US making an unusually large, unusually concentrated capital bet on AI capability (around 3.5% of US GDP), the revenue growth of the tech sector has not reaccelerated enough to “cover” the investment pace. Another interesting report is “Leading through uncertainty in the age of AI” by PWC, which reveals that most of the companies adopting AI see no payoffs and only 30% report increased revenue from AI in the last 12 months. More concerning is that this is accompanied by massive layoffs and widespread hiring freezes that are dominating the labour market.

After going through and reading all these articles, one is left with a faint impression that the innovation system is not yet capable of digesting AI technology. The system is imbalanced. On one side, there are enormous expectations and promises tied to AI adoption and application. On the other, the system is burdened by the energy and financial requirements necessary for corporations and companies to participate in the race for AI-driven automation.
This raises another question. Who are the beneficiaries of this transformation? If companies are not increasing their revenue while automating processes to the point where human labor becomes unnecessary and obsolete, what is the collective benefit of deploying these technologies?

From a technological determinist perspective, everything appears obvious. But what, then, is the role of the human being in this future?