Exploring the gap between investors' AI expectations and reality, the challenges of monetization for tech companies, NVIDIA's success in the AI field, limitations of large language models, and potential contraction in the AI industry.
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Quick takeaways
Investors' high expectations for AI technology are difficult for tech companies to meet in terms of monetization.
Microsoft has been successful in monetizing AI technology by offering tangible products and positioning themselves as providers of AI infrastructure and tools, while NVIDIA thrives as a supplier of essential hardware in the AI industry.
Deep dives
The wild expectations of AI technology
AI technology has been hyped up by technology leaders with grand claims about its potential. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, compared AI to an atom bomb in terms of its significance and potential destructiveness. However, these lofty promises also serve as a sales pitch, emphasizing the effectiveness of the technology. Companies like Microsoft and Alphabet have invested heavily in AI, but their recent earnings reports suggest that investors are realizing the challenges and limitations in translating AI into profitable businesses.
Microsoft's advantage in the AI industry
While tech giants like Google and Apple have struggled to monetize their AI investments, Microsoft stands out as a market leader in the AI space. The company has successfully incorporated AI into its cloud computing services and office suite, offering tangible products that generate revenue. By positioning themselves as providers of AI infrastructure and tools, Microsoft has established a clear path to monetizing AI technology.
NVIDIA's success in the AI industry
NVIDIA, a company that produces GPUs (graphical processing units), has emerged as a successful player in the AI industry. GPUs are crucial for efficient AI training and processing, making NVIDIA's products in high demand by companies investing in AI. While other tech companies are still searching for ways to commercialize AI, NVIDIA continues to thrive as a supplier of essential hardware in the AI gold rush.
The seemingly vast profit potential of artificial intelligence has helped buoy the stock prices of tech behemoths like Alphabet, Apple and the rest of the Magnificent Seven. But last week’s earnings showed that for many of these companies going all-in on AI, lofty investor expectations are hard to meet. As advanced as AI applications like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot may seem, it’s an open question as to whether tech companies can monetize them.
In today’s episode of The Big Take podcast, Bloomberg Businessweek technology reporter Max Chafkin explains the gap between investors' AI expectations and reality, and what it would take for these technologies to live up to their promise.