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12/17/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 12/17/2024 02:47

Scott Galloway: AI Optimist, Loneliness Pessimist

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Scott Galloway: AI Optimist, Loneliness Pessimist

December 17, 2024

Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to Scott Galloway, NYU Econ professor and cohost of my current favorite podcast, Pivot, along with Kara Swisher. Galloway, who calls himself an AI optimist, was a presenter at the recent AI: ROI Conference. Although not ignorant to its potential pitfalls (as evidenced by his example, Girlfriend.ai), he has some great ideas for how artificial intelligence will save time - and even benefit the planet.

Curating Choices, Cutting Waste

One of Galloway's key insights is that AI represents a new form of "specialty retail" for information. Just as companies like Williams Sonoma curate a focused selection of high-end kitchen goods, AI assistants aim to provide the best answer rather than overwhelming the user with endless choices. This "less is more" approach saves time and mental energy, while reducing the number of material inputs. Manufacturers could dial in their production processes to match my requirements, serving up just the three or five choices that I need to feel like I havea choice, rather than an endless array and wasted materials that nobody will purchase.

Case in point: I am on the Board of Directors of a charity which provides free bikes for kids who need them. Last year, after Christmas, a major retailer donated hundreds of brand-new bicycles to our charity because they did not sell. While our charity was delighted to receive them, imagine if the manufacturer had been able to correctly anticipate how many bicycles it would sell and make just that amount. How much better would it have been for the planet?

AI's Power Players Bet on Nuclear

Galloway also argues that the tech giants leading the AI revolution - OpenAI, Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, etc. - are essentially the new energy companies. They are making massive capital investments in computing power and AI models that no one else can match, similar to how oil giants used to corner the energy market. Access to their AI "fuel" will be the key to innovation and economic growth going forward.

One provocative claim Galloway makes is that nuclear power will make a resurgence by 2025, driven by the immense energy demands of LLMs. Nuclear power could help satisfy AI's electricity needs in a low-carbon way. While nuclear energy faces huge perception challenges (he has said that it suffers from a "tragic branding problem"), Galloway believes it is poised for a "testosterone-fueled" comeback in the U.S.

AI in Healthcare: A Double-Edged Sword

Healthcare is another area ripe for AI-driven disruption, according to Galloway. By enabling personalized, data-driven health insights and saving patients and providers time, AI could put healthcare delivery "on its toes" and drive much-needed innovation in an industry plagued by skyrocketing costs. AI may prove to be more capable than doctors for certain kinds of tasks. He believes people prefer the empathy of AI doctors to real ones! My own opinion is that AI may be more able than physicians to spot problems on surveillance scans for people with cancer, for example. You can't exhaust a computer.

However, Galloway cautions that one of AI's biggest risks is exacerbating the loneliness epidemic, especially among young men. The rise of virtual AI companions - see above - threatens to further isolate people into superficial, unfulfilling "relationships." Galloway warns that no amount of technological connection can replace the happiness and meaning found in real human relationships.

AI: Time Saver, Planet Saver?

Overall, while cognizant of AI's potential social harms, Galloway is bullish that AI assistants and recommendation engines will unlock tremendous user time savings across healthcare, education, travel, automotive and more. He suggests that the economic value generated by giving people more time could be enormous. And if AI's thirst for computing power spurs investment into cleaner energy sources like nuclear, it may yield environmental benefits as well. Definitely food for thought as we ponder the onrushing age of AI!

POSTED BY: Lisa Heathman