George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
AI has dominated subject lines across the known content universe this year and was chosen the “word of the year” by major dictionaries.
However, For me, fatigue is starting to set in. So, I thought I would search for “AI Fatigue” and see if I was the only one showing these symptoms. Interestingly, I’m not alone.
Although I have real concerns regarding AI marketing overreach and AI industry transparency/monetization, I understand the legitimacy of the conversation for our profession and others.
But let me ask: - Should we expect a “bell curve” turndown in the subject? - Are you experiencing AI fatigue? Saving Changes...
I too am feeling the fatigue but strictly in online PM communities such as this one where the majority of new discussion threads are AI-related.
This is unfortunately another example of chasing the shiny bauble rather than focusing on fixing long standing challenges for successful project delivery.
I keep repeating to myself "this too will pass" along with channeling the Costanzas' "Serenity Now" mantra :-)
I think some ongoing discussions are driven by the intensity of the current moment. Over time, as people reflect more, these conversations may evolve into more practical and thoughtful exchanges. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear George The topic you brought up for debate is very interesting.
Interestingly, instead of feeling fatigued, I feel fascinated by this topic... fascinated but at the same time afraid about how humans will use AI
Scenarios in which AI models the behavior of humans are not very interesting
Scenarios in which AI performs the repetitive and valueless tasks that were previously performed by humans are very interesting
Speaking of projects. I saw a project to build a box guitar entirely planned by AI (without any human intervention).
The planning process used is curious. From the end to the beginning (only possible in predictive approaches) Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
George,
yes, we will see a downturn curve as part of the hype cycle. Not sure we reached the pike yet. Fatigue sets in if the initial excitement wanes and the envisioned results are not reached. This is certainly the case with project management as a cross-industry domain, but probably less with industry specific applications.
AI benefits will be reached for specific areas first, like healthcare, software testing, propaganda, drone targeting, or spam filtering. While project management is serving all of these, the benefits do not come from doing projects better but from creating more sophistic products. Saving Changes...
I'm tired of the hype. I'm still curious about and interested in what AI is actually capable of, and intend to find relevant and helpful ways to use it, but I see it like Scrum and Citizen Development - they got a lot of hype and could be considered game changers in very specific areas, but they were oversold and under-delivered for many circumstances.
I'm also a little concerned about the potential for dumbing-down as an impact of over-reliance on AI. I like using AI as a research tool, but I've also had years of experience researching without AI. I don't think people should have to spend a lot of time researching things just to spend a lot of time doing research, but there is a little bit of skill and discipline involved in being able to do your own research and draw conclusions from it. If all you know is AI, what do you do when it's not available?
...
1 reply by George Freeman
Dec 06, 2023 11:24 AM
George Freeman
...
Good points.
I’m also concerned about the fallout associated with society becoming reliant on the substance that is AI.
In addition, the days of “open AI” are gone as monetization of the sector has taken hold, and with that, we have seen transparency evaporate into thin air. And without transparency, I believe we should all ask: Can we trust the content?
If the content is suspect, we need to execute our due diligence (i.e., research) anyway, so we could say that the gains associated with consuming that content, to begin with, are minimal.
Saving Changes...
George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
Dec 06, 2023 10:54 AM
Replying to Aaron Porter
...
I'm tired of the hype. I'm still curious about and interested in what AI is actually capable of, and intend to find relevant and helpful ways to use it, but I see it like Scrum and Citizen Development - they got a lot of hype and could be considered game changers in very specific areas, but they were oversold and under-delivered for many circumstances.
I'm also a little concerned about the potential for dumbing-down as an impact of over-reliance on AI. I like using AI as a research tool, but I've also had years of experience researching without AI. I don't think people should have to spend a lot of time researching things just to spend a lot of time doing research, but there is a little bit of skill and discipline involved in being able to do your own research and draw conclusions from it. If all you know is AI, what do you do when it's not available?
Good points.
I’m also concerned about the fallout associated with society becoming reliant on the substance that is AI.
In addition, the days of “open AI” are gone as monetization of the sector has taken hold, and with that, we have seen transparency evaporate into thin air. And without transparency, I believe we should all ask: Can we trust the content?
If the content is suspect, we need to execute our due diligence (i.e., research) anyway, so we could say that the gains associated with consuming that content, to begin with, are minimal. Saving Changes...
Although I do see some people actively trying to grow their own technical competency, I also see a tendency for people to look for the magic pill to cure all ills without requiring any effort. That is not limited to AI however. People have used forums like this one as a low tech version of generative AI chat interfaces for as long as there have been message boards. It is evident in a lot of questions that the person asking didn't do any homework of their own first.
In the financial industry, there is a term known as irrational exuberance, which means excessive enthusiasm in the market performance without any logical reason to justify it. I am seeing a lot of that now. That eventually leads to a disappointing return to reality. Some people will figure out how to use the tools to expand their capabilities. Others will be disappointed AI can't do all the thinking for them. I agree with Aaron that the over-reliance can be problematic because tools or other people can provide wrong answers and people tend to trust them without figuring out how to validate the outputs.
As for AI fatigue, I don't feel it any more than other repetitive questions asking what is the best free tool for managing their projects without any context or even a simple web/site search first.
...
1 reply by George Freeman
Dec 06, 2023 12:45 PM
George Freeman
...
Hi Keith,
I think “irrational exuberance” should be the “phrase of the year,” as it hits the nail on the head squarely.
I also agree with your statement that “tools or other people can provide wrong answers.” consider the following:
OpenAI, on the release of GPT-4, stated that their system is 40% more likely to provide accurate (i.e., truthful) replies than their previous version and 82% less likely to render outputs that break their content policy. Although an appreciated admission to the state of their product, the statement begs an answer to one of the quintessential questions: What are the details behind the processes that determine truthfulness and accuracy?
I wonder if consumers would still “grant trust” to content delivered by AI if they understood the transparency issues (reference my previous post).
If they did, they are at risk of being a follower of the Pied Piper.
Saving Changes...
George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
Dec 06, 2023 12:07 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
...
Although I do see some people actively trying to grow their own technical competency, I also see a tendency for people to look for the magic pill to cure all ills without requiring any effort. That is not limited to AI however. People have used forums like this one as a low tech version of generative AI chat interfaces for as long as there have been message boards. It is evident in a lot of questions that the person asking didn't do any homework of their own first.
In the financial industry, there is a term known as irrational exuberance, which means excessive enthusiasm in the market performance without any logical reason to justify it. I am seeing a lot of that now. That eventually leads to a disappointing return to reality. Some people will figure out how to use the tools to expand their capabilities. Others will be disappointed AI can't do all the thinking for them. I agree with Aaron that the over-reliance can be problematic because tools or other people can provide wrong answers and people tend to trust them without figuring out how to validate the outputs.
As for AI fatigue, I don't feel it any more than other repetitive questions asking what is the best free tool for managing their projects without any context or even a simple web/site search first.
Hi Keith,
I think “irrational exuberance” should be the “phrase of the year,” as it hits the nail on the head squarely.
I also agree with your statement that “tools or other people can provide wrong answers.” consider the following:
OpenAI, on the release of GPT-4, stated that their system is 40% more likely to provide accurate (i.e., truthful) replies than their previous version and 82% less likely to render outputs that break their content policy. Although an appreciated admission to the state of their product, the statement begs an answer to one of the quintessential questions: What are the details behind the processes that determine truthfulness and accuracy?
I wonder if consumers would still “grant trust” to content delivered by AI if they understood the transparency issues (reference my previous post).
If they did, they are at risk of being a follower of the Pied Piper. Saving Changes...
Great topic! However, Instead of feeling fatigued, I feel excited with the opportunity AI brings by filling the communication gap. It is amazing to see how Gen AI gives non-English speakers the ability to communicate their skills and knowledge at par with native speakers. The data analysis, planning tools, and all the information I get is mostly useful.
In my humble opinion, this is more of change fatigue than AI fatigue. As it is a new topic, we will dissect and digest more of it, and no doubt there is a big gap in terms of how we can use it better and faster within compliance, etc.
It is a question of how we can overcome the challenges of change and meaningful use of AI. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
George, I am actually on the same boat as Kiron is. I started to get fatigue especially from online forums. For every 10 discussion threads here on this platform, 9 are AI related.
I have so many concerns about AI like security, reliability and other ethical issues and not clear on how things will shape up to be honest!
...
1 reply by George Freeman
Dec 06, 2023 4:53 PM
George Freeman
...
Hi Rami,
The “shape” (playing off your last sentence) of AI has unfortunately formed into a currency symbol - $€£¥, etc.
I agree with your concerns. I would like to see more content generated that brings the issues related to transparency, security, reliability, and ethics (among others) to the forefront. Although I do not believe there is much appetite for that type of content.
Community Champion
