Linus Torvalds recently gave his thoughts on the merits of artificial intelligence (AI) as we know it. The creator and lead developer of the Linux kernel did not disappoint with his characteristic cynicism towards the content of the AI industry in 2024. Famous for his highly informed work and yet unvarnished opinions on all things tech, Torvalds winced as he summed up the state of the AI industry as “90% marketing and 10% reality.” Torvalds spoke at the Open Source Summit in Vienna earlier this month, where TFiR interviewed him. Tsathustra highlighted this interesting segment of AI.
During the highlighted interview segment, Torvalds attempted to see the potential of AI, but the industry’s incessant hype is taking its toll. “I think AI is really interesting and I think it’s going to change the world. And, at the same time, I hate the hype cycle so much that I really don’t want to go there,” the tech icon said.
The Linux pioneer described his mechanism for coping with the AI hype: “So my current approach to AI is I’m going to ignore it because I think the whole tech industry around “AI is in a very bad position (grimaces)…” However, it seems as if there is almost too much AI BS for the Ends to tolerate, and it is currently “90% marketing and 10% reality.” It’s quite a ratio.
Linus Torvalds says AI will change the world, but currently it’s 90% marketing and 10% reality, and it will take another 5 years to understand what AI is really for pic.twitter.com /6knFEfJbqfOctober 21, 2024
On a more positive note, Torvalds believes change is happening. “In five years, things will change and we will see what AI is used for every day for real workloads. » But it now seems appropriate to remind readers that this is not the first time that an IT industry heavyweight has questioned the validity of the AI industry. Just a week ago we reported the CEO of Baidu expressing an even more pessimistic view: the AI bubble would burst and only 1% of companies would continue to pick up the pieces after the predicted “pop”.
The godfather of Linux ended the highlighted video segment by mentioning what he sees as the current strengths of AI. “Chat GPT does great demonstrations (rubs forehead), and it’s obviously used in many areas, but especially in graphic design, things like that.” However, Torvalds couldn’t resist one last dig, reminding us “But I really hate the hype cycle.”
Unfortunately, it’s hard to be a tech enthusiast and ignore pervasive industry trends, which can often be frustrating because they seem to be driven by the marketing movement. However, it’s probably best for individuals to follow in Torvalds’ footsteps and “basically ignore” the things they don’t like, focusing instead on the many exciting aspects and potential of modern technology.
