Do philosophers ever have anything to offer investors? I know it’s a strange question, but when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), it turns out that those who work under the intellectual umbrella of cognitive science, linguistics and philosophy of language have a lot to say. For shorthand here, I will refer to such researchers simply as “philosophers”. One reason is that the towering intellectual figure Noam Chomsky, whom I will discuss below, has revolutionised all three disciplines.

Hot new tech has a tendency to blow bubbles among investors. It’s primed for hype and speculation. Its promoters usually overpromise and underdeliver, even if the underlying innovation eventually pans out such as the internet and e-commerce, but not before the dotcom bubble and its spectacular bursting. Often, though, they don’t even deliver. Cryptocurrencies, anyone?