The AI Superintelligence Myth

In this episode of the ODSC AIX Podcast, host Sheamus McGovern speaks with Arvind Narayanan, professor of computer science at Princeton University and co-author of the widely acclaimed book AI Snake Oil. Arvind is also the director of the Center for Information Technology Policy and one of TIME's 100 most influential people in AI.

Together, they unpack the growing disconnect between AI hype and practical deployment, focusing particularly on agentic AI systems and why current evaluation methods are falling short. Arvind discusses the moral limits of predictive AI, the myth of superintelligence, and how practitioners can ground their optimism in accountability, transparency, and more realistic expectations.

Key Topics Covered

- The origins and impact of AI Snake Oil

- Why many AI systems are overhyped or misapplied

- Predictive vs. generative AI: what's really at stake

- Why superintelligence is a myth—and a distraction

- The flawed assumption behind “upstream” evaluations

- Engineering and ethical limitations of AI agents in real-world deployment

- Misinformation, misuse, and human responsibility in the AI age

- The importance of resilience over restriction in AI governance

Memorable Outtakes

💬 “We came to the conclusion that superintelligence is a bit of a myth. AI will continue to improve, but …”

💬 “Broken AI is often appealing to broken institutions. You can’t fix a flawed hiring process with more automation—you need more humanity.”

💬 "Upstream evaluation is mostly dead."

References & Resources

- Arvind Narayanan Academic Profile: https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arvindn/

- AI Snake Oil (Book & Newsletter)  https://www.aisnakeoil.com

- “How to Recognize AI Snake Oil” (Slides)

https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arvindn/talks/MIT-STS-AI-snakeoil.pdf

- AI Agents That Matter (Research Paper) https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.01502

- Holistic Agent Leaderboard (HAL)   https://hal.institutions.ai

- Essay: “AGI Is Not a Milestone”

https://aisnakeoil.substack.com/p/agi-is-not-a-milestone

- Essay: “AI as Normal Technology”

https://aisnakeoil.substack.com/p/ai-as-normal-technology

- HAL: Holistic Agent Leaderboard  https://hal.cs.princeton.edu/

- Agentic AI Summit

https://www.summit.ai/

- ODSC West –  https://odsc.com/california

- Arvind’s ODSC East Keynote Session, AI Agents: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead: https://odsc.com/speakers/ai-agents-taking-stock-and-looking-ahead/

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