Episode 25: AI Early Adoption - Cautionary Tales

Several examples illustrate the potential pitfalls of early and widespread artificial intelligence adoption. Zillow's AI-driven house buying resulted in significant financial losses and job cuts due to inaccurate market predictions. A New York City chatbot designed with Microsoft ironically advised businesses to break the law. McDonald's abandoned an AI drive-through ordering system after customer confusion and incorrect orders. Air Canada was deemed responsible for a chatbot's misleading information regarding bereavement fares. Sports Illustrated faced accusations of publishing articles by non-existent AI-generated authors. Finally, iTutor Group settled a lawsuit for using AI in recruitment that illegally discriminated against older applicants.Excerpts from ⁠Magnetic Nonsense⁠⁠: ⁠⁠A Short History of Bullshit at Work and How to Make it Go Away⁠Note: podcast generated by Google LM Notebook from the original book text.

Om Podcasten

For millions of us work feels like The Office - only less funny. We’re drowning in nonsense whilst pretending it’s all perfectly rational. Endless management fads and the soundbites of self-proclaimed gurus promise to improve everything. But they never do. It’s just more pointless and annoying bullshit. But where did all this nonsense come from? Why is it so universal? And how do we make it go away? This is the story of how we got here, why we keep falling for the same rubbish, and what we can collectively do to change our belief systems and enable a better work future for all.