When I asked the question, I thought this shows AI is not so smart. I mean, most of the time I get ads that seem apt — cashmere sweaters, expensive lip balm — but this goes to show just how wrong they can be. But Meade is right. My first post of the day, about taking down the Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia, refers to the plan to cut the massive bronze object in the 3 pieces.
So this bizarre item — bizarre to me — actually goes to show how right the AI is. Unlike sweaters and lip balm, this is a very expensive item — "Request a quote!" — and the advertiser scores big if they ever find a customer. Presumably, part of the process for them involves accepting a large number of false positives. But the AI didn't screw up. I'd talked about cutting large pieces of metal.
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28 comments:
The Lincoln brand might be problematic...dead, white, republican president and all.
Now have a conversation with Meade about camping while leaving your phone nearby...see if you get served ads for tents and backpacks...
A Plasma Cutting Table would be really cool. What the heck!
Go ahead and buy!
the AI does me is real stupid. keep garnering them Grammerly ads.
Althouse said...
"...AI was serving me up an ad for a 'plasma cutting table' (something I had to click through and read about even to begin to understand)... So this bizarre item — bizarre to me — actually goes to show how right the AI is."
Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.
"Hey, just what you see, Pal."
Nice! Meanwhile clothes for teenagers clogs my advert bar.
I'm not an AI expert, but I recruit/hire in the AI/Data Science field, and at the risk of exposing my ignorance, AI is not what it's cracked up to be. I do think that if it becomes as powerful as it could be there is reason for concern and some thoughtful constraints.
I ask tough questions, and I'm by nature a skeptic. When I ask deeper questions about AI I rarely get any substantive answers, and the actual "gains" seem quite minimal to me. It's a HUGE money-maker and nobody wants to get left behind, but most companies don't have either enough data or "clean enough" data to really make any conclusions robust.
What we really have now are "AI" systems that "notice" some odd correlations and point them out. Whether those correlations are valuable or actionable is rare, but no doubt some are interesting and helpful. Things like IVR (Interactive Voice Response) also fall under AI--but even though those are impressive on the surface there's really not much depth behind even them (again, in my limited experience and tough-question-asking).
Much of the "science" behind the things we're concerned about (facial recognition, expression interpretation, voice-inflection interpretation) is so shaky I'm surprised anyone is a sucker for them. The problem is that suckers are going to be suckers, and they ARE being used--and that's the real problem.
After I bought a copy of P.J. O'Rourke's 'Eat the Rich' from Amazon, I got suggestions for cookbooks for months.
For years, I've occasionally searched for items I'm not the least bit interested in buying. I do enjoy looking at the resulting photos of bridal gowns, expensive heels, and cattle guards.
Peter @9:48: "A Plasma Cutting Table would be really cool. What the heck! Go ahead and buy!"
That was my first thought also. DAMN would that thing be fun to own! You could cut plasma all day long! Put it in your kitchen island, it would totally RIP the Brie into perfect little slices!
The AI is actually really stupid.
Why would you need a CNC table to cut a statue? The CNC table is for cutting elaborate designs into a flat sheet of metal. (Computerized Numerical Control)
What you need for the statue is a hand-held plasma torch (An oxy-acetylene cutting torch would also work). Such devices are cheap enough that anyone who does a bit of welding could afford one.
'For years, I've occasionally searched for items I'm not the least bit interested in buying. I do enjoy looking at the resulting photos of bridal gowns, expensive heels, and cattle guards.'
Funny...I keep searching for 'big boobs' and end up getting lots of ads and emails asking me to give money to Biden...
Weird.
My Facebook feed all of a sudden features cats chasing laser pointers
Not sure if it also displays ads based on your audience, but that's actually something I looked at yesterday, coincidentally after visiting your site.
Would stuff we refer to in the comments affect your ads? Plenty of room for mischief, if so...
Is anyone else here disturbed that an "AI" is monitoring the content of the blog, and not just searches?
Also, since a retired law professor is unlikely to want or be able to afford a plasma cutting table (though maybe Mead might like it), I would say it failed. It was able to associate the table with cutting, but couldn't understand the context.
The terms "AI" and "machine learning" are used to cover so many different types of technology. What you experienced is not what most people in the business of building models and deploying algorithms would think of as their business. It's no more sophisticated than a salesperson in a department store noticing you looking at a blue dress and suggesting a complimentary pair of shoes to go with it. "Real" AI or ML would take your credit card purchases, notice a correlation between the dates when you purchase $50+ at a gas station, indicating you're likely buying gas, and dates when you make other purchases at Walmart, Costco, etc, and trigger an email offer to send the products you buy on a regular basis at those stores to your home on a specified schedule and show you how much you could save on gas (not to mention vehicle wear-and-tear) by purchasing this subscription service. Showing you an ad for a plasma torch because you wrote about dismantling a statue is a bit...lazy. No offense, ad bot.
The other day, some friends were discussing movies. Someone brought up Val Kilmer's documentary, and we got on the subject of Tombstone. "I'm your huckleberry," I offered.
Had my phone on me.
That evening, my Facebook feed had an add for a really snazzy-looking "I'm Your Huckleberry" T-shirt.
That's why I like to browse the Caterpillar website once in a while. I get much more interesting ads than the normal run of ads for Depends, laxatives, denture cleaner, and so on that are provided because I order supplies's online for an elderly relative in a nursing home.
@RNB
Was one of the cookbooks titled "To Serve Man"?
This past May I had to finally replace my lawn mower, so I Googled "lawn mowers" to find out what mowers were available in my area for purchase. Ever since that day, I have been getting ads offered up for manscaping equipment.
When I bought clothes for my then-baby daughter from Amazon, I would then be followed around the internet by ads for "toddler girl underwear." For a while, I had to check my screen carefully when doing presentations for work, so that no one reported me as a perv.
I'm still getting toenail fungus pictures.
Chris Lopes said...
Is anyone else here disturbed that an "AI" is monitoring the content of the blog, and not just searches?
Also, since a retired law professor is unlikely to want or be able to afford a plasma cutting table (though maybe Mead might like it), I would say it failed.
Respectfully, you All are misunderstanding the Power of "AI"
It's NOT selling plasma cutting tables to Ann....It's SELLING THEM TO US
The "AI" got Ann to write about (and include ads for) the Plasma cutting tables
What are the odds, that One of Us (or a few of Us) will be interested??
The "AI" is USING Ann.... That is, assuming that the "AI" isn't Ann
tommyesq said...
Would stuff we refer to in the comments affect your ads? Plenty of room for mischief, if so...
Why do you think our Professor, is SO ADAMANT that we NOT use a particular word?
It would REALLY mess up the ads
The problem with AI that I have is that invariably shows me things I've just bought. That's not a good time to induce me to click.
Not available on Amazon. But Mophorn does have a portable cnc plasma cutter that looks pretty cool for $1,869.
20 years ago I might have bought one.
Be sure to use the portal.
John Henry
My company is selling a used CNC water jet in case the statue is too thick for plasma:) all you need is 480 volts and unlimited water and electric capabilities. Also shipping costs might suck...
Little Pieces of History. I've been cutting up the Hans Christian Heg statue on my plasma welding table. I make commemorative jewelry that is selling so fast I'm lookin for more toppled statues. By the way when they put a statue in "storage" it means the puppy went to that unspecified farm out in the country.
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