BuzzFeed and AI Are a Match Made in Fad City

Wall Street sure does love a fad, and it looks as if artificial intelligence may be the next “it” thing. Shares of struggling digital-media company BuzzFeed Inc. soared as much as 200% on Thursday after saying “AI inspired content” will become “part of our core business” this year. It apparently mattered little to investors that the type of content BuzzFeed has in mind includes its signature quizzes (“Try to Identify 8/8 of these Famous Rodents If You Can” or “If You Paid Attention In Third Grade, This Quiz Will Be Incredibly Simple”).

Based on the reaction in BuzzFeed shares, it won’t be long before all sorts of companies in all sorts of industries trip over one another to announce some new initiative involving AI. Details? Don’t bother asking. They’ll come later. All you need to know is that we’re getting into AI! And it’ll be huge!