In a quest to secure a staggering US$7 trillion investment for the mass production of computer chips, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, envisions a future heavily saturated with artificial intelligence (AI). Altman contends that not only will the world need colossal amounts of computer chips, but a substantial increase in energy consumption is also anticipated. The ambitious plans for AI technology, however, raise questions about the true nature of its future. Despite the dazzling results produced by AI tools like ChatGPT, skepticism persists among long-time AI researchers regarding the claim of true "intelligence."

The definition of AI, as a computer system capable of tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings, remains blurry. The debate extends to include technologies like spreadsheets and factory robots, which perform high-level human tasks by following algorithms or predefined sets of rules. The crucial distinction arises in categorizing AI technologies, with a notable divide between "discriminative AI" focused on decision-making and "generative AI" that creates outputs based on data points. Generative AI, exemplified by systems like ChatGPT, has the ability to generate responses by essentially making things up. However, a fundamental concern arises as there is no inherent difference between a system-generated "hallucination" and a response a human would consider true. This flaw is attributed to the technology's use of transformer networks, which operate on sets of rules that are challenging to explain in human terms.

A historical perspective illustrates the evolving nature of AI, where systems designed in the 1980s, such as medical expert advice systems, were groundbreaking in their time. Despite their accomplishments, these early AI systems were more akin to look-up tables, matching data to predefined advice, rather than possessing true intelligence. The emergence of contemporary technology facilitates the easy construction of similar systems, emphasizing the widespread use of AI but questioning its claim to genuine intelligence. As the pursuit of AI advancement continues, the debate surrounding the true nature of intelligence within AI technologies persists, raising skepticism about the rosy future envisioned by proponents like Sam Altman.