We are mistaking this for a splash when instead it is the ripple before the shock wave

No. "AI" isn't creating new information complexity. (In fact it's making the world simpler, by regurgitating smooth-sounding statistically average statements.)

Information complexity is the true test of intelligence, and the current crop of "AI" is actually making computing dumber, not smarter.

But yes, "dumber" is often more useful. But the industries "AI" will revolutionize are the kinds of industries where "dumber" is more profitable (e.g., copywriting spam, internet pornography, casual games, etc.) so the world will be poorer for it.

Users of chatgpt went from 0 to 1 million in five days.

Show me the compelling tech demo that did that without being a big deal.

i want to see the actual use cases for these less than perfect AIs. only recently they've become useful enough to actually assist with coding, which is indeed impressive, but what else can they really do?

they can answer questions, yes, but it's tough to tell if it's telling the truth or making stuff up which is kind of a problem. code at least compiles or doesn't so its easy to verify.

Dwarf Fortress shipped 160k units in 24 hours, and moreover people paid money for it. That won't make a dent on the course of history.

https://cogconnected.com/2022/12/dwarf-fortress-sells-160000...

The first iPhone forever changed how people use and perceive smartphones as well as how they are built. It only sold 6 million units over the course of 13 months, an average of 15k units / day.

I too can pull up completely irrelevant statistics.

I'm not sure I understand. TapWaterBandit asked for a fairly specific example of something and I gave one. Could you elaborate on what your disagreement is?

I misunderstood the intent of your post. But also, DF is not a tech demo... it's been around for two decades. And it's not new technology.

You’re still calling ChatGPT a tech demo?

Buddy, it’s not a demo, it’s a warning of what’s to come.

Stay behind, it makes no difference to anyone but yourself. As for me, I have integrated ChatGPT into my daily work. I have used it to write emails that negotiated a 30k usd deal, write stories, prototype an app, send a legal threat, brainstorm name and branding ideas, scope a potential market and this is just some of the stuff I used for actual productive work.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I have played with it for fun and intellectual curiosity.