Ed Zitron, a prominent British journalist and podcaster, has emerged as a vocal critic of the AI industry’s grand promises. In a world captivated by the rapid advancements in large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Zitron’s blunt and unapologetic scepticism has made him a cult figure among AI sceptics.
Zitron, who runs the tech newsletter “Where’s Your Ed At” and the podcast “Better Offline,” has meticulously dissected the shortcomings of current AI technologies. He argues that the industry’s claims of LLMs revolutionising the job market and transforming the world are vastly overstated. “The current generation of AI large language models will not be doing that,” he says confidently. “My evidence is they’re basically the same as they were a year ago. They have the same efficacy. And every attempt they make to try to turn these into something that can actually do things autonomously has failed.”
Zitron’s scepticism extends beyond the technology’s capabilities, delving into the financial architecture of the AI boom. He sees the staggering amounts of money pouring into AI investments as unsustainable, with the “magnificent seven” tech giants – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla – accounting for a significant portion of the S&P 500. However, Zitron argues that the demand side of the equation is far less rosy, with OpenAI alone committing to spending $1.4 trillion on AI infrastructure over the next five years, while its expected revenue for 2025 is only around $20 billion.
“When you remove the hyperscalers, there’s less than a billion dollars total in AI compute revenue in 2025,” Zitron says, highlighting the industry’s reliance on a small number of dominant players. He also questions the profitability of AI models, arguing that the more a user interacts with these platforms, the more it costs the provider, creating an inverse relationship between usage and revenue.
Despite the growing backlash against AI, Zitron doesn’t enjoy being a contrarian. “It isn’t fun being alone in an idea, which is actually why I think a lot of people are pro-AI, because it’s much easier to do that,” he admits. However, he remains committed to telling the truth as he sees it, even if it means going against the grain. “I love technology, but I hate what the tech industry is doing,” he says. “If you can’t critique this stuff without it being claimed that you don’t support the world or innovation, I think you realise we’re in this weird peasant economy where even wealthy, well-to-do famous people have to kneel at the feet of these companies.”
As the AI industry continues to capture the public’s imagination, Zitron’s voice stands out as a sober and critical counterpoint, challenging the hype and urging a more nuanced understanding of the technology’s limitations and the financial realities behind the AI boom.