I'm Tired of AI

★ FunkyFrogbait ★

03.28.2025

Reflection

I have seen many records and accounts of older generations criticising the advancement of technology.

For example: “The Internet could be the ultimate isolating technology that further reduces our participation in communities -- even more than did automobiles and television”
Norman Nie, American Social Scientist, 2000

“Reflective souls, on the other hand, survey the rapid growth of radio with a feeling of helplessness and dismay. This gigantic industry, they realize, represents a technological advance and a commercial achievement of the first magnitude. They know, too, that it is an agency of incalculable power for controlling the actions of men, that it marks a revolution in communication, and that it is a gigantic tribute to human enterprise.” The Psychology of Radio, 1935 “All argument to the contrary, I believe American life has lost something in the passing of the good mechanic and the widespread adoption of the automatic machine. For one thing, men have lost much of their usefulness to themselves. But that is beside the point.” Alexander Winton, Inventor, 1930 I find myself following a similar pattern with AI. I was initially inclined to think that, perhaps, I was overreacting as the previous generations have in the past. However, I am starting to wonder something entirely different. Maybe they were right, too? Firstly, in each of these examples, I believe that they speak some amount of truth. The internet is isolating, or worse, polarizing. The radio, which became the television, which became social media does spread propaganda. It does influence our actions. The never ending consumeristic monster we live in is always working to give us less to do, but it is also creating less we can do. It is increasingly concerning to me that my skill set is rooted in a technology I don’t fully understand. I simply could not survive without the system I want to escape.