5 Reasons Why I Left the AI Industry
Revisiting my first viral article from 3.5 years ago
I was looking through my old articles and found this one: “5 Reasons Why I Left the AI Industry.” I wrote it in April 2021. I was severely disenchanted with AI at the time. Out of love. I had been naive about the promises and AI hadn’t delivered. I left the industry for good.
In late 2020, I was laid off from a young Spanish startup that was freefalling into bankruptcy. My bosses knew little about AI. They had no idea what it could or couldn’t do — back then you didn’t just casually build a bi-directional real-time sign language translator (I’m not sure one exists yet but I bet it’s possible now).
I made it through with a few scars but I didn’t blame my heartbreak on their failure. It was, after all, my first foray into that world. The problem was not them. It was AI. So I decided to tell my story. Even then, in April 2021 — long before ChatGPT — my experience resonated with readers. My chagrin felt justified.
But today, I bet it wouldn’t resonate that much. Not even to me.
So I want to revisit the five reasons why I left.
I’ve copy-pasted the article below in block quotes. I’ve taken the opportunity to sprinkle it with updated comments (in italics, for clarity). These…
