CMU graphics professor Keenan Crane: ML stands on decades of human work, beware AGI clowns
keenanisalive · x · 2026-09-05
Carnegie Mellon graphics professor Keenan Crane says he's glad the AI world rediscovered procedural graphics and turbocharged centuries-old statistical models, but argues the marketing around these tools is wrong.
Key points:
- Frontier ML hasn't obliterated classic computer graphics; it stands "on the shoulders of giants (i.e., humans)"
- Its strength is configuring and leveraging software and algorithms humans developed over decades
- Hence his warning: beware "the clowns who want to sell you on AGI" 🤡
The take represents a common pushback from the traditional CS community: the capability comes from accumulated human work, not a path to general intelligence in the model itself.
Related event: Keenan Crane: modern ML stands on classic graphics' shoulders(2 posts)→
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