AI or BS: Distinguishing artificial intelligence from trade show hype

Though it's a coincidence that I'm writing this article roughly one year after my colleague Khari Johnson railed against the "public nuisance" of "charlatan AI," the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) clearly inspired both missives. At the tail end of last year's show, Khari called out a seemingly fake robot AI demo at LG's CES press conference, noting that for society's benefit, "tech companies should spare the world overblown or fabricated pitches of what their AI can do." Having spent last week at CES, I found it painfully obvious that tech companies -- at least some of them -- didn't get the message. Once again, there were plenty of glaring examples of AI BS on the show floor, some standing out like sore thumbs while others blended into the massive event's crowded event halls. AI wasn't always poorly represented, though: There were some legitimate and legitimately exciting examples of artificial intelligence at CES.