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   Lauren Weinstein (lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Aug-2024 09:30:37 JST Lauren Weinstein

   A very elderly and bright person (whom I did not have any contact with before today) was bending my ear (politely and humorously) about poor customer service experiences online and on the phone. And then, knowing nothing about me and completely unsolicited, she said, "You know what I really hate? All this AI bullsh*t!" Yep, AI has broken through to ordinary non-techies. Not the way Big Tech wanted as a beautiful leap into the future, but more like people realizing it's like being pushed through the ice into a freezing pond. (I had a very hard time hiding my extreme amusement with her comment, and merely replied, "Yep!").

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     Lauren Weinstein (lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Aug-2024 09:52:30 JST Lauren Weinstein

     in reply to

     • wrosecrans

     @wrosecrans It was clear to techies widely back then that it was only a matter of time before PC tech would be enormously useful and widely used. There is no such agreement regarding AI. The opposite, in fact.

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     wrosecrans (wrosecrans@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Aug-2024 09:52:31 JST wrosecrans

     in reply to

     @lauren AI today is about where personal computing was in 1979. Lot's of promises, little utility outside very narrow niches.

     Imagine somebody taking away all of your papers and books in 1979 and dropping a 4KB Commodore PET on your desk and telling you it was a mandatory update because PC's were probably the future, and you can no longer use a pen or pencil anymore. It would be an expensive disaster.

     That's how users are being introduced to AI now. Liked old software? Too bad. Forced update.

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     wrosecrans (wrosecrans@mstdn.social)'s status on Wednesday, 14-Aug-2024 09:52:32 JST wrosecrans

     in reply to

     @lauren I've still never met anybody who said "Oh, this is very useful, and I would pay for this."

     Inside the cult, it's all seen as inevitable. Outside the cult, it's just a pain in the neck and annoying to have changes pushed on you as a user or customer. Most users just don't want changes after they've learned muscle memory, so you need real improvements to impress them, and not just the abstract idea that it's change in a vaguely futuristic direction.