It is CI, not even remotely AI

 Before you run to buy the next 'AI' stock/ learn the next new 'artificial' skill, here is an unfiltered view on the current hype wave:

1. Crowd Information (CI) , not Artificial Intelligence (AI): The algorithm does not 'know' anything about what it produces and gives you. It cannot find or create something on its own but is running multiple mathematical calculations on the past information across internet and other sources to 'guess' what should be each word of the answer you are looking for. Even a self driven car is repeating what 'should' be the action, based on millions of actions it observed. It has no mind or discretion of its own. So if anyone is imagining an artificially intelligent monster behind the screen, you are more likely to find them in a Hollywood horror flick.
2. Having found that paying 30% to a toll booth operator like Apple or Android is not good for their own business or ideas, many have shifted to open source and the models that do the mathematical churns are likely to be not 'owned' by anyone. As a corollary, the next best model /algorithm may be free in the open source world. So AI printing bundles of money is currently a dream.
3. Any job loss due to AI ( or CI more accurately) is more due to the predictable /biased behavior of humans rather than a sinister plot. We are creatures of habits and it is not very difficult for someone to imitate us at lower cost. Same for the biases and consequences. If we have taken centuries to slowly reduce them, the algorithms will take a bit more time to learn from our behavioral changes.
4. Intelligence is a complex idea. There is no uniform definition of what is intelligent. If it is about avoiding errors/mistakes, doing the right thing, finding the most optimal solution etc , all of these are continuously evolving. A masterstroke may become a costly mistake in retrospect and there is always a more optimal solution if we imagine better.
5. Artificial: How is anything artificial if it has all been 'learnt' from human actions and is programmed /managed/modified/enhanced by humans all the time?

Like all buzzwords, AI is more a clickbait than what it says. In simple words, as our physical education/yoga teacher says, it is "Observe and repeat"!

Tail win(d)s!

 Both iphone and Amazon Prime which drive bulk of the revenue and success of the two companies are among the 100s of products tried. While its common for venture capital to find one of 10 investments succeed, even in public markets, the index is carried by less than 10 companies and many others are either status quo or laggards. Ignore tail at your own peril!

Consider a business that is doing fine in terms of revenue, profits etc. Its world is not static. New competition emerges every day to take that margin, beat prices down and commoditise the business. Customers move on to something better or new, regulations change, technology alters the business landscape and so on... It is critical for any business to have a tail that may come to the rescue once the head is down. When iphone or Amazon prime were launched, they were not expected to be the blockbusters they are today. The number of times Nvidia bet its life on something new is quite a story. It did not work always but Nvidia did not stop or cut the tail. Many of the stalwarts of the index no longer exist. This is after a great amount of screening and consistent performance that was mandatory for a company to get into the index.

'Jack of all and Master of none' is the saying. What you are master of , may no longer be relevant or in demand forever. Human ingenuity keeps striving to find the unknown which in many cases is opposite of what you know or believe. Inflexibility or hubris that cause one to not be open to the new, may cause the fall that happened to many index constituent companies.

It is human nature to ignore the tail as its seen as an appendage and is not immediately useful. When you fall into a ditch, that may be what pulls you up!