Does AI need to be in EVERYTHING?

Gonna say right up front that I use AI. I use it as a tool in writing, to catch spelling or grammatical errors. I use it in coding to do the boring bits, like file parsing and stuff so that I can focus on the creative bits. I generate images using AI. And, at work I am required to use AI. Really. I get marked down if I don’t use it enough.

In fact, all our developer innovation days seem to be centered on how AI can be entwined more deeply into every corner of the business. And it’s not just us; the urgency is because we may, somehow, be left behind in the industry if we don’t whole-heartedly embrace AI.

We know AI is prone to errors. It will tell you that, if you ask. But if you have to check an AI response for veracity every time you use it, you’re not really saving any time at all, and so in the interest of expediency, people will just begin to accept what AI tells them without question.

Elon Musk is showing us the future: his AI chatbot is specifically programmed to reflect his warped world view. It is his aim to ensure the responses his chatbot generates reflect a world that exists only within his twisted imagination; by manifesting it, he hopes to make it real.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman doesn’t really know what people are for, once AI is doing everything that needs to be done. Bill Gates says that in ten years “AI will replace most doctors and teachers – humans won’t be needed for most things”. Peter Thiel wants to use AI to track our every movement. Larry Ellison loves it, saying total AI surveillance will ensure “citizens will be on their best behavior.”

We use AI to render images, we use AI to write letters (or have the letters written for us), we use AI to write music for us, soon AI will drive us around, cook for us, teach us, take care of us… Billionaires foresee a world where humanity is docile and responsive to billionaire needs because AI has used our centuries of innovation and creativity against us.

I’ve read that kids, shown famous works of art, assume they were generated by AI. Why learn to paint, or play an instrument, or write, when AI can do it for you?

The idea was that AI would do the boring jobs; the housework, the carrying stuff and so on. But those things are hard. It turns out that stealing our creativity was the easy part.

Am I going to stop using AI? Probably not. One, I am required to as part of my job. And two, I don’t believe AI generally does an acceptable job. I’ve tried having AI write stuff, but it boring, leaden and dull. The music it generates is sometimes exciting, but most of the time forgettable. The images are full of artifacts no human artist would add.

So I’m undecided, really. But if billionaires want it so bad, it can only be bad for humanity in the long run.

The header image was partially generated by AI.