---
type: blog-post
title: Why your AI Chatbot sucks
description: Please don't burn too much money
draft: false
date: 2023-10-24
updates:
  - time: 2023-10-23
    description: first iteration
tags:
  - "#blog"
---

The title may seem editorialized. But honestly it is true. The current landscape
for AI bots, doesn't deliver anything, aren't interesting to use. And no, I
won't use your shitty AI bot to ask questions about my groceries.

## Yet another AI chatbot

AI bots like the IPhone apps of yore, are being churned out like a warm bread
out of an oven. And funnily they all look the same, even if they may have
different seasonings. It is actually crazy how much AI bots mimic how we built
apps. When apps first became a thing. In the beginning everything was generic
cookie cutter stuff. Such as yet another:

- Downloader for ringtones.
- Instructuals,
- Tic/Tac/Toe
- Horrible company marketing app with no functionality

Like with the AI bots we fall straight into the 4th item. Putting a small prompt
on your AI bot doesn't make it useful, or interesting. Not unless you're
creative, like Wendies were on Twitter, until every fast food brand caught on,
and did the same.

Or useful. Can your AI bot actually do stuff. Can I actually buy groceries
directly using my chatbot? No, then why in all that is holy would i spend the
time to phrase a question for it? If your AI bot doesn't deliver a better
experience or original take on your product, why would anyone use it? If it is
just yet another user interface for your product, people will just use what is
most familiar to them.

For new products like this, either it has to be extremely useful, original. If
neither fits, you won't get any traction.

A lot of these AI bots feel like talking to a generic receptionist, whom likes
to talk, way, way too much. Not that I can relate :,)

## Gain traction before it becomes a commodity

If you can get the same product everywhere, you're gonna choose what you're most
familiar with. Get users before this happens, otherwise you would just have
burned a lot of money on compute and R&D.

Already you can tell that all these companies racking in billions of dollars in
investment building foundational models (the stuff that powers your favorite
chatbot). Will go bust in the next few years. Building these models are
expensive, risky, and very short-lived. If these companies cannot out-compete
their rivals, then they will just have burned a ton of money for no avail.

Building these models looks a lot like chip manufactoring. It requires tons of
capital, but in just a few years, that old investment is pretty much worthless.
All the users and money is given to the ones at their forefront of their field.
Whether that is in monthly users, cheapest operations, originality etc.

I fear for those playing in the generic foundation model field. You may be able
to buy 100 A100s now, but in two years that investment is pretty much obsolete,
so unless you get proper mindshare in that amount of time, you are doomed. We're
probably gonna see some interesting attempts from some of these companies over
the next years, trying to diversify their models, into specific fields, or
products. Because right now, being a generic general purpose chatbot, is a
difficult journey, especially when up against giants such as Google, OpenAI
(Microsoft), Apple etc.

GPT4 and rivals are already proving to be very reliable. In a few years ones the
next models come out, and they're further optimized for speed, and cost. GPT4
and its fellows will become a commodity. There will probably still be a marked
for the best and newest models, like with phones. But for most people the older
cheaper model, will probably be just fine.
