Matthew Hughes
@matthewhughes.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1.6K following 1K posts
Journalist (ex The Register, The Next Web, HowToGeek). Writer. Software developer. Dog owner (x3). Scouser. I have a newsletter about how tech companies are ruining our lives. https://whatwelost.substack.com/
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matthewhughes.bsky.social
My latest newsletter is about how generative AI doesn't just need money to survive, but faith.

Every time we see another big genAI foul-up, that faith will waver, and its end becomes all the more likely.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Generative AI’s Impending Death By A Thousand Rake-Smacks
Give it enough rope...
whatwelost.substack.com
matthewhughes.bsky.social
You can actually see the moment he realizes his life is over.

Genuinely one of the most brutal things I've ever seen on the Internet.
matthewhughes.bsky.social
You say that, but...

Yes. This video enjoyed a brief moment of virality a few years back. Californian guy flies over to the UK for a rap battle, dedicates the last round to disclosing his opponent's infidelity.

Said opponent hasn't been seen since.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4IR...
JEFFERSON PRICE VS CAUSTIC | Don't Flop Rap Battle
YouTube video by Don't Flop Entertainment
www.youtube.com
matthewhughes.bsky.social
NGL, considering writing about this just so that I can use that headline.
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Tesla actually makes a profit though and doesn't require potentially more than a trillion dollars to meet its short-to-medium-term commitments, all while losing vastly more than it brings in.

I agree, Tesla's share price is removed from reality. But share price != business fundamentals.
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Another fun opening to a Yelp review.
matthewhughes.bsky.social
"Come for the food, stay for a poo" will forever be my favorite line I've ever written in my entire life.

And I once wrote a headline that made Danny Dyer laugh on national TV.
matthewhughes.bsky.social
The one bit of advice I'd give to any writer is to treat any opportunity to write as an exercise, and to be weird and funny and creative, especially in low-stakes situations where it doesn't matter if you don't actually accomplish the thing you're writing for.

Yelp reviews are a good sandbox!
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Telling @edzitron.com about the time I got kidnapped by a British Airways Boeing 787 toilet, and the subsequent letter of complaint I sent to BA, which for reasons I don't fully understand, they didn't take seriously...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Each fuck-up that catches headlines only serves to shake that enterprise faith further.

And makes OpenAI's long-term survival look even more distant.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Every time that faith is shaken, OpenAI and genAI become more tenuous.

When Deloitte -- one of the top-four accounting firms in the world -- has to refund a customer because an AI hallucinated stuff, it's bad for OpenAI and GenAI.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Enterprise adoption of genAI is driven by faith in it being more capable than it is, and that it'll improve over time.

It's a faith that, like any other faith, will only be broken by the thing that the person has faith in.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
In practical terms, this means having 125m subscribers on its $20-a-month plan.

That's not going to happen. So, we're left to conclude that for OpenAI (and genAI) to survive, it needs to massively grow its enterprise users.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
The math for genAI doesn't make sense. Especially OpenAI.

Take its $300bn deal with Oracle. To pay for that, it'd need to grow its subscriber business to bring in as much revenue as Netflix does each month, while growing its API business at the same scale.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
What was once said only by critics is now being echoed by central banks, and even the people running genAI companies. What if we're in a bubble?

There's been a real vibe shift.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
If you're tired of generative AI, you're probably wondering how it'll end, and when.

So far, the conversation has centered on the broken, putrid economics of companies like OpenAI.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Reposted by Matthew Hughes
matthewhughes.bsky.social
My latest newsletter is about how generative AI doesn't just need money to survive, but faith.

Every time we see another big genAI foul-up, that faith will waver, and its end becomes all the more likely.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
Generative AI’s Impending Death By A Thousand Rake-Smacks
Give it enough rope...
whatwelost.substack.com
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Each fuck-up that catches headlines only serves to shake that enterprise faith further.

And makes OpenAI's long-term survival look even more distant.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Every time that faith is shaken, OpenAI and genAI become more tenuous.

When Deloitte -- one of the top-four accounting firms in the world -- has to refund a customer because an AI hallucinated stuff, it's bad for OpenAI and GenAI.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
matthewhughes.bsky.social
Enterprise adoption of genAI is driven by faith in it being more capable than it is, and that it'll improve over time.

It's a faith that, like any other faith, will only be broken by the thing that the person has faith in.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
matthewhughes.bsky.social
In practical terms, this means having 125m subscribers on its $20-a-month plan.

That's not going to happen. So, we're left to conclude that for OpenAI (and genAI) to survive, it needs to massively grow its enterprise users.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
matthewhughes.bsky.social
The math for genAI doesn't make sense. Especially OpenAI.

Take its $300bn deal with Oracle. To pay for that, it'd need to grow its subscriber business to bring in as much revenue as Netflix does each month, while growing its API business at the same scale.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...
matthewhughes.bsky.social
What was once said only by critics is now being echoed by central banks, and even the people running genAI companies. What if we're in a bubble?

There's been a real vibe shift.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...