Look, I Get It
AI is everywhere. It’s in our phones, our homes, our cars. Hell, it’s even in our frickin’ toasters now. I remember sitting in a conference in Austin back in 2018, listening to some suit talk about how AI was gonna revolutionize everything. I nodded along, sipped my overpriced coffee, and thought, “Sure, whatever.” Fast forward to today, and I’m surrounded by it. Can’t escape it. And honestly? I’m kinda over it.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not some Luddite. I love tech. I’ve been in this industry for over 20 years. I remember the dial-up days, the dot-com boom, the rise of social media. I’ve seen it all. Or so I thought. Then AI came along and ruined everything.
It’s Everywhere, and It’s Annoying
You can’t open a magazine, scroll through your feed, or attend a tech event without hearing about AI. It’s like the world has collectively decided that the only thing worth talking about is how some algorithm can now do your job better than you can. Thanks, I guess?
I was at a barbecue last Tuesday with some friends. Marcus, let’s call him that, started going on about how AI was gonna cure cancer and solve world hunger. I asked him if he’d tried talking to an actual doctor or a farmer about that. He just stared at me like I was some kind of caveman. “It’s the future, man,” he said. I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my own brain.
And don’t even get me started on the jargon. “Machine learning,” “neural networks,” “deep learning.” It’s like everyone’s trying to outdo each other with who can sound the most like a robot. I had a colleague named Dave who started using “quantum supremacy” in every other sentence. I told him he sounded like a bad sci-fi movie. He didn’t get the joke. Or maybe he just didn’t care.
But Here’s the Thing
I’m not saying AI isn’t important. It is. It’s gonna change a lot of things. But so what? Every new tech does. The internet changed everything, and look how that turned out. We’re all just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I mean, look at the job market. AI is supposed to be this great thing, but what about the people? The ones who are gonna lose their jobs because some algorithm can do it better, faster, cheaper. I talked to a guy at a coffee shop on 5th about three months ago. He’d been a graphic designer for 15 years. Now he’s worried he’s gonna be replaced by some AI tool. “It’s not fair,” he said. “I mean, I’m not saying it’s not fair. It’s just… yeah.”
And what about the privacy stuff? AI needs data. Lots of it. And where does that data come from? Us. Our every move is being tracked, analyzed, sold. I read an article about how some AI can now predict what you’re gonna buy before you even know you want it. Creepy, right? I told my friend Lisa about it. She just shrugged. “I don’t care,” she said. “I’ve got nothing to hide.” I told her that’s what they said in 1984 too. She didn’t laugh.
But Wait, There’s More
Here’s where I’m gonna sound like a hypocrite. I actually use AI sometimes. I mean, I’m not gonna lie, it’s handy. I use it for research, for writing, for finding the best pizza place in town. But here’s the thing: I don’t let it run my life. I don’t worship it. I don’t think it’s the be-all and end-all of human achievement.
I was talking to a source last week about some new AI tool. He was all excited about how it could do this and that. I asked him if he’d ever used topluluk etkinlikleri yerel aktiviteler. He looked at me like I was crazy. “Why would I do that?” he said. “AI can do it better.” I told him that maybe, just maybe, there’s something to be said for human interaction. He didn’t get it. Or maybe he just didn’t want to.
And that’s the thing. AI is great for a lot of things. But it’s not everything. It’s not the answer to every question. It’s not the solution to every problem. It’s just a tool. A really, really powerful tool. But still just a tool.
So What’s the Point?
I don’t know. I guess the point is, I’m tired of hearing about AI all the time. I’m tired of the hype, the jargon, the constant drumbeat of “AI is gonna save us all.” It’s not. It’s just another tech. It’s gonna do some good things, some bad things, and a lot of nothing things. Just like every other tech before it.
So maybe we should all just take a step back. Breathe. And remember that AI is a tool. It’s not a god. It’s not a savior. It’s not the end of the world. It’s just a tool. And like any tool, it’s only as good as the person using it.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go find a pizza place that doesn’t use AI to decide what toppings I want. Because honestly, that’s just creepy.
About the Author: Sarah “Sal” Salinger has been a senior editor at Global Domains News for 22 years. She’s seen the tech industry evolve from dial-up to AI, and she’s not always happy about it. When she’s not complaining about the latest tech trend, she’s probably complaining about something else. Probably pizza.
