AI Booster? AI Doomer? You're Wrong Either Way

Fallthrough

It's a rarity in recent years to have a conversation and not have the topic of AI brought up. There are those who think we're on the cusp of AI super-intelligence, those who think AI will destroy the job market, and those who completely write the entire thing off. What these conversations lack is nuance. In this episode, Kris is joined by Matt and Steve to bring some much needed nuance to the conversation around artificial intelligence. They discuss the history of AI; how everything old is new again, sometimes literally; why boosters and doomers are wrong; what intelligence actually is (in reference to computers); and so much more.

We've also have a new episode of Break! We've decided that Break will be video first, so you can watch it on YouTube or in your favorite podcast app by going to: https://break.show/ep/3.

For our supporters, we have a whole bunch of extra content. This episode was one large, unstructured conversation, so we've included interludes of related or slightly tangential conversations as supporter content. Not a supporter yet? You can fix that by heading over to https://fallthrough.fm/subscribe where you'll get not only extra content but also higher quality audio. Sign up today!

Thanks for tuning in and happy listening!

Notes:

• How AI is Ruining the Electrical Grid

Table of Contents:

• Prologue (03:12)
• Chapter 1: A Brief History of AI (04:35)
• Chapter 2: The AI Boom & Bust (09:00)
• Interlude: Why Are People Mad at Duolingo? [Supporter Only] (10:07)
• Chapter 3: The Problem Isn't AI, It's The Products (10:07)
• Interlude: Why AI Coding Assistants are like Debuggers [Supporter Only] (18:33)
• Interlude: Bankified Companies [Supporter Only] (20:22)
• Interlude: The Uber of Past Successes [Supporter Only] (23:30)
• Chapter 4: Why Everyone Is Wrong About AI (23:33)
• Interlude: How The Power Grid Works [Supporter Only] (36:34)
• Interlude: Congestion Pricing, Capacity Planning, & Subway Cars [Supporter Only] (42:10)
• Chapter 5: Startups Aren't Businesses [Supporter Only] (42:11)
• Chapter 6: The Machines Have Been Intelligent The Entire Time (42:39)
• Chapter 7: The Interface Is A Means To An End (53:14)
• Chapter 8: We Need More Naunce (01:02:08)
• Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions (01:10:29)
• Epilogue (01:15:58)

Hosts

• Kris Brandow - Host
• Matthew Sanabria - Host
• Steve Klabnik - Host

Socials:

• Website
• Bluesky
• Threads
• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

• (03:12) - Prologue
• (04:35) - Chapter 1: A Brief History of AI
• (09:00) - Chapter 2: The AI Boom & Bust
• (10:07) - Interlude: Why Are People Mad at Duolingo? [Supporter Only]
• (10:07) - Chapter 3: The Problem Isn't AI, It's The Products
• (18:33) - Interlude: Why AI Coding Assistants are like Debuggers [Supporter Only]
• (20:22) - Interlude: Bankified Companies [Supporter Only]
• (23:30) - Interlude: The Uber of Past Successes [Supporter Only]
• (23:33) - Chapter 4: Why Everyone Is Wrong About AI
• (36:34) - Interlude: How The Power Grid Works [Supporter Only]
• (42:10) - Interlude: Congestion Pricing, Capacity Planning, & Subway Cars [Supporter Only]
• (42:11) - Chapter 5: Startups Aren't Businesses [Supporter Only]
• (42:39) - Chapter 6: The Machines Have Been Intelligent The Entire Time
• (53:14) - Chapter 7: The Interface Is A Means To An End
• (01:02:08) - Chapter 8: We Need More Naunce
• (01:10:29) - Appendix UNPOP: Unpopular Opinions
• (01:15:58) - Epilogue