The idea of technology thinking for you might sound fun on paper, but in reality, if we stop thinking, we're doomed to become drooling zombies, aimlessly living until our overlords decide to send us our next prompt.
The problem is the mindless adopters, who think that any technological “advancement” is automatically superior to everything that came before it and therefore, they must use it. These people will adopt anything and everything and lose their brains completely, but they’ll still try to convince you that their way is better and that you’re just a silly Luddite who doesn’t get it.
Nailed it. I use technology, but only to the point it serves me. This latest wave of headsets, AI-wearables etc, seems to be moving beyond that, feels more forced upon us than designed with purpose
Flawless piece. I concur 100% and I think I know what the end game is here: the push to maximize profits by finding “the next big thing” is going to continually run contrarily to what we, the users, actually want, until the house of cards collapses. Make no mistake, there will always be *some* people okay with this tech, but many will slowly drift away and we all know these companies can’t stay afloat with only some people supporting them.
Thanks Joe! I think The Next Big Thing is an infinite loop tbh, but I do feel there has to be a breaking point with this current wave of tech that just seems forced on us rather than designed with intention.
Yes! We are already seeing a general collective eyeroll and digital fatigue regarding social media, online surveillance and tech dependance/addiction. That is why, I believe digital detox collectives and yoga retreats and meditation/mindfulness is becoming increasingly popular.
I feel there has been a shift too, certainly a little more resistance to being told "this is the future." Lots of pushback against Metaverse, headsets, glasses and AI-wearables. Perhaps there is hope after all...
I must admit, I had a blast with Chat GPT yesterday afternoon; I had it doing checks every thirty minutes to determine the chances of Milton hitting Mar-a-Lago.
What cracked me up was that after a while, it deduced what I was going for, so it started telling me the chances for the hurricane to crash into Trump's media company, also located in Florida.
Stoked for this — "It seems we'll soon have AI prompt us with suggestions of what to text friends, what picture we should take, what location we should walk to, randomly update us on something, or start a conversation with us."
…there is an author on here who shall stay unnamed and unstacked who suggested that all writing we do, posts, notes, email, stacks etc. should be run through a.i. first before we send as a means to improve quality…i have very little to say about the quality of their writing and even less to say about the quality of their quality…
Improve quality - the opposite of what it does. I can almost get onboard with AI-first draft, then worked on by human to "improve quality" but I don't believe for a second it works the other way
The topic is very interesting! Especially because I can feel how much I'm already being influenced by these algorithms. It's frustrating how much AI-based social media affects the human body when you're scrolling and just staring at the screen. The lack of attention span these days is incredible and it's getting worse. Do you really think people understand that AI assistance in everyday situations is bad for them? I'm also curious about the future of social media if we decide against AI-based feeds. Far too many people are talking about this topic.
Been thinking about this for some time. Your articulation on the matter is approachable, complete and compelling.
I recall in ~2016 the push for all business models to become data monetization schemes, which is what they are, while planting the seed of their own demise: enshittification.
Agree! It would be useful if they could turn the force of AI towards something actually useful too. Heard Microsoft’s head of AI development on a podcast recently. My wish would be go fix Office 365, insert some AI that can rectify the numerous issues and make the damn thing work properly
It's definitely a depressing thought though. This was partly the idea behind this really short fiction snippet I wrote. What do humans do in a world where everything is automated, everything is available instantly and no one is expected to strive for anything.
I agree with your premise but I disagree with the assertion that we've been slowly outsourcing our thinking only since algorithms. Not really. Everything from capitalism to courts to money to economic policies is an average human outsourcing most of their thinking to technology / institutions along the way. But AI is going to accelerate the end state for the same.
This is why I plan to disappear into the forest and create a nice, cozy hermitage.
Save a spot for the rest of us!
Will do!
May I please join you? I feel exactly the same way haha 🌳
I’m not sure if it’s possible to create a community of hermits, but I’m willing to give it a go.
The problem is the mindless adopters, who think that any technological “advancement” is automatically superior to everything that came before it and therefore, they must use it. These people will adopt anything and everything and lose their brains completely, but they’ll still try to convince you that their way is better and that you’re just a silly Luddite who doesn’t get it.
Nailed it. I use technology, but only to the point it serves me. This latest wave of headsets, AI-wearables etc, seems to be moving beyond that, feels more forced upon us than designed with purpose
Flawless piece. I concur 100% and I think I know what the end game is here: the push to maximize profits by finding “the next big thing” is going to continually run contrarily to what we, the users, actually want, until the house of cards collapses. Make no mistake, there will always be *some* people okay with this tech, but many will slowly drift away and we all know these companies can’t stay afloat with only some people supporting them.
Thanks Joe! I think The Next Big Thing is an infinite loop tbh, but I do feel there has to be a breaking point with this current wave of tech that just seems forced on us rather than designed with intention.
Yes! We are already seeing a general collective eyeroll and digital fatigue regarding social media, online surveillance and tech dependance/addiction. That is why, I believe digital detox collectives and yoga retreats and meditation/mindfulness is becoming increasingly popular.
I feel there has been a shift too, certainly a little more resistance to being told "this is the future." Lots of pushback against Metaverse, headsets, glasses and AI-wearables. Perhaps there is hope after all...
The future is just bots all the way down and only the 1% will think that is normal because they aleady disassociate from reality and don't keep normal human connections. I tried to imagine that world here: https://open.substack.com/pub/deeplywrong/p/our-glorious-agentic-future
AI Agent: "Sir, I, the AI, did everything you need done for today before you even woke up."
Future Us: "Right, so what do I do now?"
AI Agent: "Oh, good point."
Zuck. Yuck. Wash -- repeat.
Another home run from you, Stephen.
I must admit, I had a blast with Chat GPT yesterday afternoon; I had it doing checks every thirty minutes to determine the chances of Milton hitting Mar-a-Lago.
What cracked me up was that after a while, it deduced what I was going for, so it started telling me the chances for the hurricane to crash into Trump's media company, also located in Florida.
Smart ass robot!
I was going to write the word "Yuckerberg" in the piece. I wonder if that has been termed yet.
Stoked for this — "It seems we'll soon have AI prompt us with suggestions of what to text friends, what picture we should take, what location we should walk to, randomly update us on something, or start a conversation with us."
I wonder if your small beach town vibes will keep you protected from it all.
…there is an author on here who shall stay unnamed and unstacked who suggested that all writing we do, posts, notes, email, stacks etc. should be run through a.i. first before we send as a means to improve quality…i have very little to say about the quality of their writing and even less to say about the quality of their quality…
Improve quality - the opposite of what it does. I can almost get onboard with AI-first draft, then worked on by human to "improve quality" but I don't believe for a second it works the other way
I just auto blocked him - if you dont like your own voice why should I listen to you
The topic is very interesting! Especially because I can feel how much I'm already being influenced by these algorithms. It's frustrating how much AI-based social media affects the human body when you're scrolling and just staring at the screen. The lack of attention span these days is incredible and it's getting worse. Do you really think people understand that AI assistance in everyday situations is bad for them? I'm also curious about the future of social media if we decide against AI-based feeds. Far too many people are talking about this topic.
On point.
Been thinking about this for some time. Your articulation on the matter is approachable, complete and compelling.
I recall in ~2016 the push for all business models to become data monetization schemes, which is what they are, while planting the seed of their own demise: enshittification.
It’s already too late for us as a species. Call me a doomsayer but I think I’m just being a realist.
Agree! It would be useful if they could turn the force of AI towards something actually useful too. Heard Microsoft’s head of AI development on a podcast recently. My wish would be go fix Office 365, insert some AI that can rectify the numerous issues and make the damn thing work properly
I take responsibility for where I put my own attention.
My center of creativity is within myself not in the “hands” of something else.
And yes I agree. There is a storm coming.
People like George Orwell and Neil Postman (in “Amusing Ourselves to , with blistering prose) saw all this coming long ago.
It's definitely a depressing thought though. This was partly the idea behind this really short fiction snippet I wrote. What do humans do in a world where everything is automated, everything is available instantly and no one is expected to strive for anything.
https://open.substack.com/pub/tyagarajan/p/never-more-than-a-minute?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=24wbd
I agree with your premise but I disagree with the assertion that we've been slowly outsourcing our thinking only since algorithms. Not really. Everything from capitalism to courts to money to economic policies is an average human outsourcing most of their thinking to technology / institutions along the way. But AI is going to accelerate the end state for the same.