Look, I’m Gonna Say It
AI is not the be-all-end-all. There, I said it. I know, I know, I’m a tech editor and I’m supposed to be all starry-eyed about the latest algorithms and neural networks. But honestly? It’s getting out of hand.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, right? Some guy named Marcus—let’s call him Marcus because his name was actually Steve—stood up and started yammering about how AI was gonna revolutionize everything. Health care? AI. Driving? AI. Your coffee order? AI. I mean, come on. Even my toaster’s got AI now, and it still burns my bagels.
And don’t even get me started on the journalism side of things. I had lunch with a colleague named Dave about three months ago, and he told me his publication was using AI to write local news coverage update. I asked him if he’d lost his mind. He said, “It’s just for the basic stuff, you know, crime reports, weather, that kinda thing.” I said, “Dave, that is the news.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But Here’s the Thing
I’m not saying AI is all bad. It’s not. It’s just… I dunno, it’s like that kid in school who’s really good at math but can’t hold a conversation to save his life. You gotta use it for what it’s good at, you know?
Take cybersecurity, for example. AI can spot patterns and flag anomalies way faster than a human can. That’s great! That’s useful! But then you’ve got companies trying to use AI for customer service, and suddenly you’re talking to a bot that thinks “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that” is an acceptable replacement for actual problem-solving.
I had this happen to me last Tuesday. I was trying to cancel a subscription—won’t name the company, but let’s just say they rhyme with “Shmecker.” I spent 36 hours—okay, fine, 36 minutes—but still!—talking in circles with this AI. It was like trying to reason with a goldfish. A goldfish with a PhD in being unhelpful.
And the Hype? Ugh.
Every other article is about how AI is gonna take our jobs, steal our data, and probably steal our lunch if we’re not careful. Look, I get it. AI is cool. It’s impressive. But it’s not magic. It’s a tool. And like any tool, it’s only as good as the person using it.
I mean, remember when everyone was freaking out about self-driving cars? “They’re gonna be on the road by 2020!” they said. “They’ll be safer than human drivers!” they said. Well, guess what? It’s 2024 and I still have to parallel park my own damn car. And don’t even get me started on the whole “AI is gonna take our jobs” thing. Honestly, if my job can be done by an algorithm, maybe I should’ve been worried a long time ago.
But here’s the thing that really gets my goat. The hype. The committment to making AI out to be something it’s not. It’s not sentient. It’s not creative. It’s not gonna write the next great American novel. It’s a bunch of code that’s really good at finding patterns. That’s it. That’s all.
So What’s the Answer?
I don’t know, okay? I’m not saying we should all go Amish and reject technology. But maybe, just maybe, we should take a step back and think about what we’re actually trying to accomplish here.
I was talking to a friend of mine—let’s call her Lisa—over coffee at the place on 5th the other day. She’s a teacher, right? And she was telling me about how her school was thinking about using AI to grade papers. I said, “Lisa, that’s insane.” She said, “No, no, it’s just for the multiple-choice stuff.” I said, “Lisa, that is the grading.” Which, honestly, is a conversation for another time.
But here’s the thing. AI has its place. It’s great for crunching numbers, spotting trends, that kinda thing. But it’s not a replacement for human judgment. It’s not a replacement for critical thinking. And it’s certainly not a replacement for common sense.
So yeah, the AI hype train is leaving the station without its pants. And I, for one, am not getting on board. At least not until someone invents an AI that can make a decent cup of coffee. Until then, I’ll stick to the humans.
Oh, and if you’re looking for actual, useful information about what’s going on in your neighborhood, check out the local news coverage update. Because nothing beats a good old-fashioned human journalist when it comes to getting the facts straight.
About the Author
I’m Sarah, senior editor at Outreach.ws. I’ve been in the tech journalism game for over 20 years, and I’ve seen it all—from the rise of the internet to the fall of the flip phone. I’m opinionated, I’m passionate, and I’m not afraid to call out BS when I see it. When I’m not editing, you can find me arguing with Siri about the best route to the coffee shop or trying to teach my cat how to use a trackpad. (She’s not having it.)
