When AI Attacks Earnings

AI can power phenomenal revenue growth – until it doesn't. That lesson is being learned the hard way at a growing number of companies where issues with AI systems are not caught and remedied before materially impacting revenue. The latest example is Unity Software, a platform for creating and operating interactive and real-time 3D (RT3D) content. On its most recent earnings call, Unity revealed that it missed top line expectations and lowered its revenue guidance for the rest of the year due in part to a "self-inflicted wound" in AI. Specifically, the company's CEO and Executive Chairman John Riccitiello cited several issues related to machine learning (ML) models that caused an estimated impact to the business of approximately $110 million in 2022: When AI fails on the public stage like this, the temptation to pile onto whatever company is on the chopping block is sometimes irresistible (see: Zillow).