Look, I’m gonna say it
AI is so 2018. It’s like everyone woke up last Tuesday and thought, “Oh hey, let’s all suddenly care about neural networks and whatnot.” I mean, honestly, it’s like the tech world has a collective attention span of a goldfish. (Which, by the way, is apparently three seconds. Who knew?)
I’m Mark, by the way. Been editing tech mags since before ‘cloud computing’ was a thing. Back when we just called it ‘the internet’ and left it at that. I’ve seen trends come and go. Remember virtual reality? Yeah, me too. And augmented reality. And whatever the hell ‘mixed reality’ is supposed to be. Point is, I’ve seen this movie before. And frankly, I’m not here for it.
But wait, there’s more
So last week, I’m at this conference in Austin — let’s call it ‘TechFest South’ because honestly, nobody remembers the real name — and everyone’s talking AI. It’s like they think it’s the second coming of Christ or something. I’m sitting there, listening to some guy named Marcus — who, by the way, had a sweater vest on, which is a whole other issue — going on about how AI is gonna solve world hunger, cure cancer, and probably fix my WiFi connection too.
I asked him, “Marcus, buddy, what about the whole ‘AI bias’ thing? Like, remember that time Amazon’s AI hiring tool was sexist? Or when Microsoft’s Tay turned into a Nazi?” He just smiled and said, “Oh, we’ve moved past that.” Which… yeah. Fair enough. I guess if you ignore all the problems, they kinda go away.
But here’s the thing. I’m not saying AI isn’t cool. It’s cool. It’s really cool. It’s just… I don’t know, maybe it’s my age showing, but I kinda miss when tech was about making things simpler, not more complicated. You know? Like, remember when we just wanted a phone that could make calls and maybe take a picture if we were feeling fancy? Now it’s all about AI assistants and machine learning and stuff that honestly, most people don’t need.
And don’t even get me started on the cybersecurity nightmare
So, I’m having coffee with my friend Sarah — over at the place on 5th, by the way, they make a mean latte — and she’s telling me about this new AI-powered security system her company’s using. “It’s amazing,” she says. “It learns our behavior and can detect intrusions before they even happen.” I said, “Sarah, that sounds awesome. But what happens when someone hacks the AI?” She looked at me like I’d just asked if the sky was blue. “No one’s gonna hack the AI,” she said. Which, honestly, is the kinda thing people said about the internet in the ’90s too.
Look, I’m not saying we should all go back to using dial-up and floppy disks. But maybe, just maybe, we should take a step back and think about what we’re actually gaining with all this AI stuff. Because from where I’m sitting, it feels like we’re just creating more problems to fix the problems we already had.
A brief tangent about gadgets
Speaking of problems, remember smart fridges? Yeah, those things that were gonna revolutionize the way we shop and cook and live our lives? Well, guess what? They’re still not that smart. I mean, mine just told me I’m out of milk. Wow. Thanks, AI. I never would’ve figured that out on my own.
But hey, at least it’s not as bad as that time I bought a smart toaster. You know, the one that burns your toast if it thinks you’re having a bad day. Yeah, that was a thing. And no, I’m not making it up. Look it up. Or don’t. It’s depressing.
So what’s the alternative?
I don’t know, man. Maybe we just need to slow down a bit. Take a breath. Stop trying to automate every little thing and just… live, you know? I mean, not everything needs to be connected to the internet. Not every device needs to have a ‘smart’ version. Sometimes, a toaster is just a toaster.
And hey, if you’re gonna buy some new gadget, do your research. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon because some influencer told you to. Check out an online marketplace comparison review or something. Or, you know, use your brain. Crazy concept, I know.
But anyway, I’m ranting. I do that. Ask anyone who knows me. My wife, Linda, says I could turn a grocery list into a political debate. Which, honestly, is probably true. But hey, at least I’m passionate, right?
So yeah, that’s my take on AI. It’s cool. It’s useful. But it’s not the be-all and end-all. And if you think it is, well, maybe we should have a chat over coffee. My treat. But only if you promise not to wear a sweater vest.
About the Author: Mark Thompson has been a senior editor at various tech publications for over 20 years. He’s seen trends come and go and isn’t afraid to call out the hype when he sees it. When he’s not writing, he can be found tinkering with old tech gadgets and complaining about the lack of good coffee shops in his neighborhood. You can find him on Twitter @MarkTechWrites, where he continues to rant about the state of the tech world.
