Following a frenzy of media stories about the new power of generative AI technologies such as Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and AI image generators like Stable Diffusion, investors are pouring money into the burgeoning industry.
Bloomberg reports that references to AI and related terms are up 77 percent compared to a year earlier, with the value of stocks related to AI technology soaring.
Via Bloomberg:
Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT lit up the internet in November, companies can’t stop talking about artificial intelligence. Take this earnings season so far: References to AI and related terms during calls with investors are already up 77% from a year earlier.
It’s no wonder. AI-hungry investors have propelled Nvidia Corp., which makes the chips needed for complex AI computing tasks, into the best-performing stock among mega-caps this year. Relatively obscure firms with AI in their names have also skyrocketed. BigBear.ai Holdings Inc. has surged more than 300%, while C3.ai Inc. and BuzzFeed Inc. have more than doubled. Guardforce AI Co. is up 51%.
The tech-focused Nasdaq 100 Index traded slightly lower at the open on Wednesday. The index is up nearly 10% this year, far exceeding gains in the S&P 500 Index.
Generative AI has generated a great deal of attention this year due to its ability to produce increasingly-accurate images and eerily human text responses.
OpenAI founder Sam Altman, creator of ChatGPT (TechCrunch/Flickr)
The technology has also attracted controversy. ChatGPT has come under scrutiny for its political bias, with early prompts revealing it would refuse to offer conservative viewpoints on topics like critical race theory and drag queen story hour, while agreeing to defend both.
It would also praise Joe Biden while refusing to do so for Donald Trump. While the bias has been toned down, it still remains, with ChatGPT adding caveats before repeating many conservative viewpoints.
Microsoft’s new Bing search engine, powered by GPT, has also attracted attention for its occasionally erratic responses to user inputs, including calling one user “delusional,” and discussing the engineering of deadly viruses.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.