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Comment by munificent | Hacker News Reader

Interesting that the article uses "ML" everywhere instead of "AI". I'm sure some marketing person chose that term deliberately, and I wonder what went into that decision.

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All of the industry leaders of AI can’t stop bragging about how their AI is committing what would be felonies if a human did it, warning that it’s about as likely as not that AI will literally lead to human extinction, and threatening that it will erase all white collar work (or not depending on the day) and investing resources in a manner that will only be worthwhile if it actually does.

I don’t think there’s any mystery as to why AI is not a good marketing term.

I find the juxtaposition of "can't stop bragging" and "is not a good marketing term" to be fascinating. Have you considered that they know these recent reports aren't a good look for them but that they feel compelled (either because they know it would be far worse when it inevitably got out on it's own or maybe even from some moral sense) to report somewhat truthfully?

Two different audiences. Unfortunately for them, messages cross streams. I think it is a good message if you’re trying to scare people into giving you money (or else they lose out on unlimited profits down the road).

Who is this audience that thinks unasked-for and un-controllable felonies is a good message, or who wants to fund that?

Everyone who is buying into RSI/AGI hype. That hype is the only thing sustaining this investment cycle. The bubble will pop as soon as people realize “AI” is a normal technology.

I had a whole long response typed out and I realized that it probably wasn't worth it. I think that I just have to admit that I find your view and understanding of the world completely incomprehensible. Thanks for humoring me, and have a nice day.

I don't think there's anyone who wants to fund "committing felonies", for obvious reasons.

Apple did exactly the same thing a few years back:

Apple avoids “AI” hype at WWDC keynote by baking ML into products (2023)

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/06/at-ap...

First of all, machine learning is a distinct category of A.I., so they are being more specific about their methods. If we get right down to it, "A.I." is, and has always been, a nearly meaningless buzzword that means whatever you want it to mean. In 2026 it is highly stigmatized by haters, anyway. So I appreciate that a techblog endeavors to explain exactly what sort of A.I. they're employing in these systems.

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