Hyping Artificial Intelligence, Yet Again

According to the Times, true artificial intelligence is just around the corner. A year ago, the paper ran a front-page story about the wonders of new technologies, including deep learning, a neurally-inspired A.I. technique for statistical analysis. Then, among others, came an article about how I.B.M.'s Watson had been repurposed into a chef, followed by an upbeat post about quantum computation. On Sunday, the paper ran a front-page story about "biologically inspired processors," "brainlike computers" that learn from experience. This past Sunday's story, by John Markoff, announced that "computers have entered the age when they are able to learn from their own mistakes, a development that is about to turn the digital world on its head."