There is a trend appearing of late that mirrors one of about 25 years ago. That was back when the internet as we know it now was just starting (the first commercialisation of the internet in Australia was circa 1995).
When companies worked out there was a quid to be made here – not sure how and why but there was money somewhere in this newfangled idea – a bright spark decided that whacking the letter ‘i’ in front of a brand or product name would immediately identify it as an internet product.
And back then that was really, really cool.
Suddenly, everything from music players to phones and even bloody Vegemite had the vowel tacked to the front of it. And a bit later when the 2nd generation of internet happened, everything suddenly became “i”whatever 2.0”.
One of the most ridiculous I saw was at a forum where internet-y companies were allowed to spruik their wares to assembled lizards of the press. One US based mob had “invented” a system with a gadget that blocked IP addresses to thwart dodgy companies who were trying to spam or rip off people. This was supposedly to be done manually(!) by literally an army of US college types who would troll the web to weed them out and when found, enter the IP address into a database. This electronic gizmo you had purchased would then read them and block from your computer or local network.
After it was described to the bunch of, mostly incredulous journos, the presenter ended his spiel with a dramatic, “And we call it” – long pause –“ iIP Blocker Two Dot 0”!
Someone actually clapped I recall before realising everybody else was looking at them as if they were mad.
The same sort of nonsense appears to be happening again, except it is not the letter ‘I’ being the culprit, but the combination of letters, “AI”.
They are appearing everywhere.
Already there are lists of the top 20 or top 50 ‘best’ AI products, or the ‘AI products you cannot live without’. Etc. Etc.
I can’t wait for the first electric kettle to sport the moniker. I am sure it will happen sooner rather than later, mark my words. Then we’ll know AI is REALLY real.
Footnote:
It has also become popular when discussing AI to refer to Isaac Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics and nod wisely when it is suggested old Isaac, despite his overall brilliance in science and prediction, much like his contemporary, Arthur C. Clarke, missed out here not predicting AI and therefore we are all doomed. Doomed I say. The robots are going to kill us all and take over.
Well I hate to tell all the purveyors of this nonsense the venerable Mr Asimov DID predict this as there are actually FOUR laws of robotics. In a later book he added the “Zeroth Law” to cover this very eventuality. So the entire list of laws reads:
- A robot may not harm humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second laws.
