and pass it off as real, a problem that the companies are trying to solve but some AI researchers say might not be possible to fix. AI companies have also come under fire from artists, filmmakers and musicians for using their copyrighted works to train AI models without permission or payment. A
The UBS report, which properly cited its data, generated buzz in part because the nuance was lost on people. Charts comparing ChatGPT to multibillion-dollar apps such as Instagram, Spotify, Uber and TikTok ricocheted across social media. Reporters started including the 100 million number in stories as fact, without explaining where it originally came from. Speakers reeled it off at conferences as evidence that AI would be as disruptive to society as the advent of the internet or electricity.
In 2018, Pichai said that AI would have a more “profound” impact on human society than the discovery of fire did. In interviews, conference talks and calls this year, he’s repeatedly said that generative AI is a huge business opportunity for the tech giant, and that he’s working on weaving it into all of the company’s product lines.