Piledriving the GenAI Grift with Nikhil Suresh

Screaming in the Cloud

While we can’t repeat the title of his blog post here, Nikhil Suresh recently gained notoriety for his scathing takedown of the hype surrounding GenAI. On the surface, it appears his anger lies with the tech, but that’s not the case. In this episode, Nikhil explains to Corey why his frustrations are targeted at a predatory bubble swindling young professionals and investors. You’ll hear their thoughts on the correlation between AI and crypto grifts, why most tech keynotes are just fluff and buzzwords, and when industry catch-all terms start to lose meaning. While GenAI may still show some promise, this week’s episode breaks down why you shouldn’t believe the hype.

Show Highlights:

• (0:00) Intro to episode
• (0:41) Backblaze sponsor read
• (1:08) The origins of Nikhil’s viral article
• (4:20) The disconnect between buzzwords and work
• (5:26) Throwing money at AI
• (7:17) AI vs. craftsmanship
• (13:36) The rush to get AI tools out the door
• (16:12) The telltale signs of bad AI content
• (18:50) AI, crypto, and GPU grifts
• (20:33) The fallout of Nikhil’s blog post
• (22:34) Firefly sponsor read
• (23:10) The practicality of GenAI
• (26:24) GenAI presentations vs. reality
• (29:07) Predatory hiring practices and tech’s current barrier for entry
• (32:03) Sturgeon’s Law in the industry
• (35:22) Consequences of the hype cycle
• (38:48) The fantasy land of “conferenceware”
• (42:01) Where you can find Nikhil

About Nikhil Suresh:

Nikhil is one of the directors at an Australian data consultancy named Hermit Tech, though he’s probably most well-known for writing a blog titled Ludicity. Nikhil has a background in psychology and data science.

Links Referenced:

• https://ludic.mataroa.blog/
• https://www.hermit-tech.com/

Sponsors

• Backblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/
• Firefly: https://www.firefly.ai/