AI is not Magic

For centuries, electricity was thought to be the domain of sorcerers – magicians who left audiences puzzled about where it came from and how it was generated. Although Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries were well aware of the phenomena when he proved the connection between electricity and lightning, he had difficulty envisioning a practical use for it in 1752. In fact, his most prized invention had more to do with avoiding electricity, the lightning rod. All new innovations go through a similar evolution: dismissal, avoidance, fear, and perhaps finally acceptance.

Today, too many people view artificial intelligence as another magical technology that’s being put to work with little understanding of how it works. They view AI as special and relegated to experts who have mastered and dazzled us with it. In this environment, AI has taken on an air of mysticism with promises of grandeur, and out of the reach of mere mortals.

The truth, of course, is there is no magic to AI. 

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