In my world of research, education and some policy, the conversations about AI fall into two broad categories. The first is actually intelligent and thoughtful conversation. There is discussion about the underlying mathematics of AI - how AI can help design better experiments and identify patterns in existing data that may not be obvious to us; the limits and potential of large language models (LLMs); the issue around power consumption and data centres; the impact on sustainability goals, discussions about ownership and rights, and of course ethics, especially in situations that deal with vulnerable groups. This, unfortunately, is a minority conversation. The majority conversation is bombastic, full of hyperbole and increasingly non-sensical. Let me illustrate with a few examples, all from the last couple of weeks.

At a recent conference on public health and infectious diseases, a professor of engineering was talking about the impact of AI on the field. There wasn't much substance in the presentation, except some........

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