The Seven Deadly Sins of the AI Industry: False Promises of AGI and the Perils of Attention-Hacking

This article critically examines the current state of the AI industry, highlighting seven key problems: exaggerating the proximity of AGI, prioritizing engagement over utility, persistent and unresolved hallucinations in LLMs, oscillating between fear-mongering and utopianism regarding AI risks, a lack of a credible path to profitability, quasi-monopolistic tendencies in the AI field, and the overhype of AI agents. The author argues that these issues stem from the industry's pursuit of short-term gains, lack of self-reflection, and a disregard for real-world accountability, ultimately leading to a potential misdirection of AI development and negative societal consequences.