On the other hand, I’ve seen things such as e.g. approaches which amount to caching, being put forward as ML for database performance optimisation. So there’s also quite a bit of in your face ML that is not even ML to counter the transparent real ML.

Yeah often the more marketing dollars spent to hype something as AI/ML the less likely it is to be AI/ML - the real applications just speak for themselves in their own utility label or no.

Yes, too much focus on AGI.

We don't need AGI or self-driving to make a big leap.

I want drone fleets that can roof a house or 3d print structures. Nanobots to clear arteries and destroy cancer cells. These things will not need to pass the Turing test or even close.

I just want cheap car where I can space out at wheel and it beeps when I have to continue driving.

In Europe they call these things a "bus" or a "train". They are usually cheap, in Luxembourg all public transport is free.

You get into it, and it takes you to the destination. You can space out all you like.

Yes, it is slower than driving yourself, unless there is heavy traffic, but it tends to work well.

These are not comparable replacements for cars because of a litany of reasons unrelated to this thread. It's an old, tired conversation.

The car beeps and by the time the driver returns to earth and figures out what the fuck is going on, it will almost certainly be too late.

What you're really asking for is a car that predicts when it needs to beep. I'd imagine that in most of the serious situations, the maximum warning time will be shorter than the minimum spaced-out driver reorientation time. In fact, no meaningful scenario comes to mind where the car would want help but with a handful of seconds to spare.

OK, but the discussion is about "AI" - artificial intelligence.

Do you call a white blood cell "intelligent"? Then why would you call a nanobot that destroyed cancer cells "intelligent"?

Collectively nanobots or drone fleets could demonstrate quite some intelligence or productivity, as insect hives do. It's a distributed form of AI.