--- title: Worth Reading: Cargo Cult AI « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev description: A brief pointer to an ACM Queue article by Edlyn V. Levine warning about 'cargo cult AI' — the uncritical adoption of AI hype without understanding. The post... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/worth-reading-cargo-cult-ai-ipspace-net-blog-68a91j27b twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Worth Reading: Cargo Cult AI « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev og:description: A brief pointer to an ACM Queue article by Edlyn V. Levine warning about 'cargo cult AI' — the uncritical adoption of AI hype without understanding. The post... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/worth-reading-cargo-cult-ai-ipspace-net-blog-68a91j27b og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/68A91j27b.png og:image:alt: Worth Reading: Cargo Cult AI « ipSpace.net blog og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Worth Reading: Cargo Cult AI « ipSpace.net blog **[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 1 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A brief pointer to an ACM Queue article by Edlyn V. Levine warning about 'cargo cult AI' — the uncritical adoption of AI hype without understanding. The post highlights that the deep learning techniques driving today's AI excitement, including ChatGPT, are built on neural network concepts invented in the 1940s and largely complete by the 1980s, offering a grounding historical perspective on the current AI wave. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### When were the foundational concepts of neural networks and deep learning actually invented? The foundational concepts of neural networks were invented in the 1940s, and essentially all core methods — including convolutional neural networks and backpropagation — were in place by the 1980s. The recent AI boom, including ChatGPT, is built on this decades-old multilayer (deep) neural network approach rather than fundamentally new science. _Developers evaluating AI tools and separating genuine breakthroughs from hype track perspectives like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Cargo Culture](https://daily.dev/posts/cargo-culture-7zxijfe81) · Where's Your Ed At · 28 upvotes · 2 comments - [Potentially Useful](https://daily.dev/posts/potentially-useful-q5ewuknui) · Lobsters · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [AI 2040 and the Cult of Intelligence](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-2040-and-the-cult-of-intelligence-gl7xvshg0) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a religion](https://daily.dev/posts/any-sufficiently-advanced-technology-is-indistinguishable-from-a-religion-t8fu3peba) · Tech Lead Digest · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai](https://daily.dev/tags/ai), [#machine-learning](https://daily.dev/tags/machine-learning), [#chatgpt](https://daily.dev/tags/chatgpt), [#neural-networks](https://daily.dev/tags/neural-networks) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/worth-reading-cargo-cult-ai-ipspace-net-blog-68a91j27b) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Worth Reading: Cargo Cult AI « ipSpace.net blog","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/worth-reading-cargo-cult-ai-ipspace-net-blog-68a91j27b","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/worth-reading-cargo-cult-ai-ipspace-net-blog-68a91j27b"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T08:54:58.288Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T09:04:10.107Z","description":"A brief pointer to an ACM Queue article by Edlyn V. Levine warning about 'cargo cult AI' — the uncritical adoption of AI hype without understanding. The post...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--2-1xRawN--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2011","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--2-1xRawN--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2011","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"ipSpace.net Blog","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ipSpace.net Blog","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--xS7E82MT--/f_auto,q_auto/v1786438303/logos/ipspace?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/worth-reading-cargo-cult-ai-ipspace-net-blog-68a91j27b","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"ai,machine-learning,chatgpt,neural-networks","timeRequired":"PT1M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ipSpace.net Blog","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Worth Reading: Cargo Cult AI « ipSpace.net blog"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/worth-reading-cargo-cult-ai-ipspace-net-blog-68a91j27b#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"When were the foundational concepts of neural networks and deep learning actually invented?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The foundational concepts of neural networks were invented in the 1940s, and essentially all core methods — including convolutional neural networks and backpropagation — were in place by the 1980s. The recent AI boom, including ChatGPT, is built on this decades-old multilayer (deep) neural network approach rather than fundamentally new science. Developers evaluating AI tools and separating genuine breakthroughs from hype track perspectives like this on daily.dev."}}]} ```