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Why AI Is Harder Than We Think (2021) (arxiv.org)
2 points by simonebrunozzi on Jan 4, 2023 | hide | past | pdf | discuss on HN

In plain words: It traces AI's repeated boom-and-bust cycles and pinpoints four common mistaken beliefs among AI scientists that make predictions too confident. These blind spots help explain why self-driving cars and housekeeping robots keep missing promised deadlines.

Abstract · Why AI is Harder Than We Think

Since its beginning in the 1950s, the field of artificial intelligence has cycled several times between periods of optimistic predictions and massive investment ("AI spring") and periods of disappointment, loss of confidence, and reduced funding ("AI winter"). Even with today's seemingly fast pace of AI breakthroughs, the development of long-promised technologies such as self-driving cars, housekeeping robots, and conversational companions has turned out to be much harder than many people expected. One reason for these repeating cycles is our limited understanding of the nature and complexity of intelligence itself. In this paper I describe four fallacies in common assumptions made by AI researchers, which can lead to overconfident predictions about the field. I conclude by discussing the open questions spurred by these fallacies, including the age-old challenge of imbuing machines with humanlike common sense.

Melanie Mitchell
arXiv:2104.12871 · cs.AI · submitted Apr 26, 2021 · updated Apr 28, 2021
abstract · pdf · html · 12 pages; typos corrected in newest version

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Also discussed: Aug 2023 (3 points, 1 comment) · Apr 2021 (110 points, 75 comments)