What Rubs Me the Wrong Way About AI

I believe that a limited amount of AI, in the right places, can be genuinely helpful. For example, when English isn’t your first language, it’s great for proofreading, grammar, sentence structure -- all that. Though honestly, a simple LLM will do the trick, no AGI required.

But I think I’ve finally figured out what really rubs me the wrong way about AI.

All the previous tech “revolutions” -- personal computers, the internet, mobile phones, cloud platforms, social media, streaming -- made a lot of people very rich, but they also made my life better.

So if a legitimate business came along, revolutionized an area, and you got rich off it, I’m okay with that. An actually useful SaaS that makes my day-to-day easier? That’s great. A social network that keeps me close to friends and family, or a streaming platform that lets me watch new shows with the rest of the world? Even better. And a piece of cutting-edge tech in my hand, exactly the same whether you’re a millionaire or a 9-to-5 clerk? That’s downright marvellous.

But AI? AI companies make a lot of promises and fill their pitch decks with buzzwords. I just don’t see how any of it will actually improve my life, even in the slightest.

So far, the whole AI wave feels like people getting paid obscene amounts of money to build something that will make the things I love worse, and will take my job on top of it.

And I’m not okay with that.