Pundit ClaimsAI claims by Gary Marcus and Ed Zitron, with the evidence

Ed Zitron Where's Your Ed At Published

Silicon Valley's False Prophet

We recorded 14 claims from this post. 4 were checked against evidence. 10 can’t be checked. 7 more are held. Read the post at its source.

Claims from this post (14)

In the order they appear in the post. Each quotation is the speaker’s words in this post. A label such as “Supported” or “Can’t be checked” is the claim’s current assessment; its page has the evidence and the reasons.

  1. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “The tech industry has craved a messiah since the death of Steve Jobs, but in OpenAI CEO Sam Altman they’ve discovered more of a false prophet — a seedy grifter that uses his remarkable ability to impress and manipulate Silicon Valley’s elite to mask a total lack of technical or business acumen.”

    What we tested: Sam Altman is a false prophet who manipulates Silicon Valley's elite to hide a total lack of technical or business acumen.

  2. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “When Altman says something genuinely, truly insane — like how he wants to raise $7tn, which is the combined GDP of Germany and France, to build up a dedicated AI semiconductor manufacturing capacity — the response isn’t to immediately dismiss it with a chorus of derisive laughter, but to actually discuss it with a level of seriousness that isn’t even remotely warranted.”

    What we tested: Altman's stated wish to raise $7tn to build dedicated AI semiconductor manufacturing capacity is genuinely insane, and the serious discussion it gets, rather than dismissal, is not even remotely warranted.

  3. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “While there are genuine safety issues with artificial intelligence to consider, these people are desperately afraid of the computer coming alive and killing them when they should fear the non-technical manipulator getting rich making egregious promises about what AI can actually do.”

    What we tested: AI company insiders should worry less about AI coming alive and more about Altman getting rich on egregious promises about AI, though real AI safety issues exist.

  4. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “Sam Altman is dangerous to artificial intelligence not because he’s building artificial general intelligence — a kind of AI that meets or surpasses human cognitive capabilities, and potentially mimics human sentience, a bit like Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation — but because Sam Altman’s focus is on what Sam Altman can build to grow the power and influence of Sam Altman.”

    What we tested: Altman is dangerous to artificial intelligence not because he is building AGI but because his focus is on what he can build to grow his own power and influence.

  5. Assessment: SupportedSaid

    “As things get desperate, Altman will use the only approach he knows: sheer force of will. He will push OpenAI to grow and sell into as many industries as possible, a specious hype-man selling to other specious hype-men desperate to connect their company to an AI bubble inflated by Altman himself.”

    What we tested: As things get desperate, Altman will use sheer force of will and push OpenAI to grow and sell into as many industries as possible.

    What happened: The article reports that Altman declared a code red to avoid falling behind competitors and redirected work. This meets the stated reading of serious business pressure, though it does not establish insolvency. (MacRumors, )

  6. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “And I’d argue that this is exceedingly dangerous for Silicon Valley and the tech industry writ large as executives disconnected from the process of creating software follow another non-technical founder hocking unprofitable, unsustainable and hallucination-prone software.”

    What we tested: He argues that Altman pushing OpenAI to sell into as many industries as possible is exceedingly dangerous for Silicon Valley and the wider tech industry, as executives disconnected from creating software follow another non-technical founder hawking unprofitable, unsustainable, hallucination-prone software.

  7. Assessment: UnresolvedSaid

    “He will push OpenAI to grow and sell into as many industries as possible, a specious hype-man selling to other specious hype-men desperate to connect their company to an AI bubble inflated by Altman himself.”

    What we tested: There is an AI bubble, and Altman himself inflated it.

  8. Assessment: UnresolvedSaid

    “Generative artificial intelligence is not going to become the incredible supercomputer that Altman has regularly promised.”

    What we tested: Generative AI will not become the incredible supercomputer Altman has promised.

  9. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “Altman has taken advantage of the fact that the tech industry might not have any hyper-growth markets left, knowing that ChatGPT is, much like Altman, incredibly adept at mimicking depth and experience by parroting the experiences of those who have actually done things.”

    What we tested: ChatGPT mimics depth and experience by parroting others, and Altman exploits a tech industry that may have no hyper-growth markets left.

  10. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “While ChatGPT isn’t inherently useless, Altman realizes that it’s impossible to generate the kind of funding and hype he needs based on its actual achievements, and that to continue to accumulate power and money, he must speciously hype it to wealthy and powerful people who don’t participate in the creation of anything.”

    What we tested: ChatGPT isn't inherently useless, but Altman realizes that its actual achievements cannot generate the funding and hype he needs, and that to keep accumulating power and money he must speciously hype it to wealthy, powerful people who don't create anything.

  11. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “The tech industry has spent years pissing off customers, with platforms like Facebook and Google actively making their products less useful in the pursuit of perpetual growth, unashamedly turning their backs on the people that made them rich and acting with such contempt for users that I truly believe society will turn on the tech industry.”

    What we tested: Society will turn on the tech industry because of its contempt for users.

  12. Assessment: UnresolvedSaid

    “When the deck of cards collapses, he’ll find something to blame it on — market forces, a lack of energy breakthroughs, or “unfortunate economic forces” — and remain a billionaire capable of doing anything he wants.”

    What we tested: When the AI house of cards collapses, Altman will blame external factors and remain a billionaire.

  13. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “My hope is that venture capital finally learns to back companies that make a profit building software and hardware that actually helps people.”

    What we tested: Venture capital should back companies that make a profit building software and hardware that actually helps people.

  14. Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid

    “It won’t, however, be the apocalypse. It’ll just be a brutal realignment for an industry that has needed one.”

    What we tested: When the deck of cards collapses, it will not be an apocalypse but just a brutal realignment for a tech industry that has needed one.

Held from this post (7)

These records did not pass every check, so nothing about them is published. Held is not a finding.