Keynote: After the AI Hype – What’s Real, and What’s Next - Richard Campbell - 2026

Historical Context and AI Hype00:00:00

Campbell traces the origins of AI from the 1950s to modern LLMs, explaining how the field has been shaped by marketing, science fiction tropes like HAL 9000, and a tendency to anthropomorphize software.

The Evolution of Neural Networks and Generative AI00:05:00

A detailed look at the breakthrough of neural nets in 2012, the formation of companies like OpenAI, and the eventual public launch of ChatGPT as a data-collection experiment.

The Technology Hype Cycle00:18:42

Analyzing current AI trends through the Gartner Hype Cycle, comparing the current AI bubble to the dot-com era, and highlighting the massive infrastructure spending on data centers.

Economic Distortions and Self-Dealing00:33:00

Campbell discusses how investment loops between chip manufacturers and AI startups are artificially inflating market value and driving unsustainable infrastructure orders.

Real-World Utility and Future Outlook00:45:23

Contrasting hype-driven AI with practical successes, such as DeepMind’s AlphaFold in protein folding, which has fundamentally changed medicine, illustrating that AI's real value lies in solving complex human problems.