Generative AI: What’s all the hype about?

The new wave of generative artificial intelligence, like ChatGPT and DALL-E, has got the tech business in a frenzy.

Venture capitalists are pouring money into new AI startups: Investments in generative AI have already exceeded $2 billion. But there’s lots of unknown unknowns about the innovation. There’s virtually no oversight from the government, and teachers, artists, researchers and others are raising concerns.

“There’s so much happening under the hood that we don’t get access to ... there needs to be much more transparency,” said Alex Hanna, director of research at the Distributed AI Research Institute.

On the show today: why AI is getting so much attention these days, ethical issues with the tech and what lawmakers should focus on when trying to regulate it. Plus, why some say it could exacerbate the climate crisis.

In the News Fix, some Kia and Hyundai cars keep getting stolen, and insurance companies are taking notice. Plus, we might spend the most on health care, but health in the United States falls behind other high-income countries by several measures. And, why you might want to get ready for some inflation whiplash.

Later, we’ll hear from a listener who’s pro-ChatGPT when it comes to writing cover letters. And in the spirit of Dry January, Elva Ramirez, author of “Zero Proof: 90 Non-Alcoholic Recipes for Mindful Drinking,” gives us a little history lesson on mocktails (or cleverages).

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “Investors seek to profit from groundbreaking ‘generative AI’ start-ups” from Financial Times
• • Alex Hanna’s “Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000” streamed weekly on Twitch
• • “AI rockets ahead in vacuum of U.S. regulation” from Axios
• • “Robots trained on AI exhibited racist and sexist behavior” from The Washington Post
• • “What jobs are affected by AI? Better-paid, better-educated workers face the most exposure” from the Brookings Institution
• • “Yellen Sees Low Inflation as More Likely Long-Term Challenge” from Bloomberg
• • “State Farm says it has stopped insuring some Kia, Hyundai vehicles” from CBS News
• • “Health care spending in the US is nearly double that of other wealthy nations: report” from The Hill

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