
Two in five 'AI startups' essentially have no AI, mega-survey of nearly 3k - GFischer
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/03/05/eu_startups_no_ai/
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crsv
If they surveyed 3K “ai” startups the likely answer is some tiny fraction have
any genuinely unique IP and the others at best are likely using ML libraries
and services from other parties. Again it will probably devolve in to a
discussion around the boundaries for what IP is actually “AI”, but yes, it’s
mostly sizzle with no steak in the market.

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contingencies
_AI is whatever hasn 't been done yet._ \- Douglas Hofstadter (1980)

A view perhaps exists that "true AI IP" is perhaps only algorithmic. However,
let's be frank: it's rare that a new algorithm is the best, fastest, cheapest,
only, or most appropriate solution for a problem.

Remembering that most inventions (AI or otherwise) aren't fundamentally
enabling new ("green field" / "blue ocean") areas (they're just competing with
existing approaches which are more costly, slower, less convenient, less
reliable, less available, or less accurate than they might be - eg. after the
invention) we should perhaps expect applications of existing algorithms to new
datasets or domains to be the most numerous 'AI' applications in the
marketplace.

