Why every AI launch now makes the backlash worse

Better tools keep producing worse reactions. For the media, the only answer left is a name the audience can hold responsible.

[Photo: J Studios/Getty Images]

Pete Pachal is a journalist and the creator of Media Copilot, a newsletter and podcast that examines how AI is changing media, journalism, and the news.

The past few weeks have seen a host of AI model and tool releases, and—although it might sound cliché at this point—it’s fair to say the abilities of AI today make what was available even six months ago seem like toys. During the same period, the AI industry has faced growing backlash over concerns about how it will affect the environment, destroy creativity and critical thinking, or even self-organize in ways that could be destructive to, well, all of humanity.

For a while, there was an expectation (more of a hope, really) that once AI got really powerful and useful, the public would warm up to it. For the past few years, the industry has been simultaneously shipping better products while spreading panic over its potential negative consequences.........

© Fast Company