Ron Schmelzer – Artificial intelligence is a hot topic across the board — from enterprises looking to implement AI systems to technology companies looking to provide AI-based solutions. However, sometimes the technical and data-based complexities of AI challenge technology companies to deliver on their promises. Some companies are choosing to approach these AI challenges not by scaling back their AI ambitions, but rather by using humans to do the task that they are otherwise trying to get their AI systems to do. This concept of humans pretending to be machines that are supposed to do the work of humans is called “pseudo AI”, or more bluntly, just faking it.

Most notably, a number of companies have been claiming to use artificial intelligence in order to automate parts of their services such as transcription, appointment scheduling, and other personal assistant work, but in reality have been outsourcing this work to humans through labor marketplaces such as Amazon Mechanical Turk. While artificial intelligence is actually used for the solution in part or at all, these companies have not been truthful with their claims of using computers to perform these services. 

CNBC published an article critical of Sophia, the AI robot from Hanson Robotics. When the company was approached by CNBC with a list of questions they wanted to ask, Hanson Robotics responded with a list of very specific questions for Sophia. In a followup video, CNBC questions whether the robot is meant to be research into artificial intelligence or is just a PR stunt. They also provided the responses. Even the owner of Hanson Robotics has gone on record as saying most media encounters are scripted. Read On: