Welcome back to the July 2021 Artificial Intelligence Conversation Snapshot! AI as a topic ranked #11 in our data Jul’21, down from #9 in May’21.  The topic registered a 7% decrease in coverage volume from Jun’21 to Jul’21 (from 106,768 stories to 99,050). Year-over-year it grew in both volume (+27%, from 78,218 to 99,050) and rank (from #14 to #11).

So, what were these 99,050 stories about? Honestly, a lot of the same trends as before, which gets us to the biggest theme surrounding AI right now: disappointment. At the end of the month, The Wall Street Journal published an article, ‘Why Artificial Intelligence isn’t Intelligent’ suggesting that all the hype around AI, is at this point, still just hype. It claims that those researchers with the best handle on the technology say it’s misunderstood and misrepresented, leading to “winters of disappointment”, or seasons of disappointing, non-disruptive algorithms.

But the research and investment in AI continues. The US Government Accountability Office published a report identifying key practices for federal implementation of artificial intelligence, encompassing governance, data, performance, and monitoring. Fortune reported that Citi Group significantly increased their search for software engineers to flesh out their AI practice, looking to fill 3,000 roles. The New York Times shared that researchers at UCSD are feeding AI data about wildfires to determine the best preventative methods.

Overall, so much of the conversation surrounding AI continues to focus on exciting “what if’s” and “could be’s”, but many are getting burnt out on the lack of results. For marketers within the AI space, focus your message, hone on the real practical implementation and what AI is doing to change things for the better, in the now.