Episode 2113: Does Silicon Valley have an AI Bubble Problem? Duh....
Does Silicon Valley have an AI bubble problem? That Was the Week’s Keith Teare, usually the most bullish of tech bulls, acknowledges that Silicon Valley has an overvaluation issue with AI startups. But I wonder if the problem with AI goes deeper than the frothiness of its startup valuations. What, if anything, is AI search good for? asks a Vox piece that Keith links to this week. That could be rephrased. What, if anything, is AI good for? might be a better question amidst the ridiculous valuations and childish promises of Silicon Valley’s AI priesthood. And the current answer, I suspect, is: not very much.
Keith Teare is the founder and CEO of SignalRank Corporation. Previously, he was executive chairman at Accelerated Digital Ventures Ltd., a U.K.-based global investment company focused on startups at all stages. Teare studied at the University of Kent and is the author of “The Easy Net Book” and “Under Siege.” He writes regularly for TechCrunch and publishes the “That Was The Week” newsletter.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Episode 2290: Marshall Poe on why 2024 was a bad year for most podcasters
Episode 2289: Gary Marcus on how Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is, in the long run, inevitable
Episode 2288: Simon Kuper on the chilling parallels between MAGA America and Apartheid South Africa
Episode 2287: Joseph O'Neill explains how to resist contemporary Fascism
Episode 2286: Seth Rogovoy on why A Complete Unknown, the new Dylan biopic, is a complete failure
Episode 2285: Toby Walsh on the revolutionary promise and peril of AI in 2025
Episode 2284: Soli Ozel on the possibility of a 2025 "Pax Hebraica" in the Middle East
Episode 2283: Jonathan Rauch's six key moments of 2024
Episode 2282: Adam Kirsch on the nonsense of "Settler Colonialism"
Episode 2281: Parmy Olson on why Google DeepMind will trump OpenAI in 2025
Episode 2280: Who will win the multi trillion dollar race for AI supremacy in 2025?
Episode 2279: Why 2024 will be remembered as the year before 2025
Episode 2278: Max Stier on the Essential Value of the American Federal Government