How to cut through the hype around artificial intelligence – Wolters Kluwer

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This article was originally published in Architecture & Governance.
Any new technology is sure to breed buzz, and artificial intelligence (AI) is no exception. Think back to the days when innovations like the telegraph or radio or iPhone first hit the market. Oftentimes, people get excited—and many get ahead of themselves. While the hype around a new technology can drive greater adoption, it can also lead to disappointment should things not go quite as planned or promised.
Gartner dubs this journey—from anticipation to disappointment—the hype cycle. An innovation trigger creates an uptrend that eventually peaks. In the case of AI, the first peak of inflated expectations may have been when IBM’s Deep Blue beat chess champion Garry Kasparov. But it’s ill-advised to discuss AI as a broad singular category defined by a single chess game. Every application is at a different stage in the hype cycle. Google has been hyping its chatbot recently but lost a whopping $100 billion in market cap after the tool made an error during a live demo. ChatGPT is another AI chatbot that is receiving tremendous buzz that many experts have labeled as having inflated expectations.
The question is how to cut through the noise to determine if a particular AI solution is approaching the trough of disillusionment or has already waded through it and is delivering real value. No matter the use case, I recommend approaching artificial intelligence with a healthy dose of skepticism. More specifically, ask the following five questions—which I’ll explain using the context of corporate law departments (CLDs)—to evaluate whether the specific application you’re considering is hype or reality.
There are many applications where AI can live up to the hype. But there are just as many where it’s destined to fall short. In truth, the hype cycle around AI—or any piece of technology—is neither good nor bad. It’s simply an inevitable pattern, much like the sun rising and setting each day. It’s indisputable that AI-powered tools are becoming increasingly nuanced and sophisticated as they benefit from the accumulation of data. In the legal context specifically, many departments have overcome their initial hesitancy thanks largely to success stories of early adopters. As demand for AI continues to grow, ask yourself the right questions to cut through the noise and find use cases in which the hype was warranted.
When you have to be right
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