Angst in the Age of AI

I keep thinking that my innate distaste for the generative AI apps washing over us like a tsunami stems from the technology’s aptitude for telling its users what to think. I don’t want anyone telling me what to think — not a boss, not a politician, not my husband. And certainly not a “program.” I suppose I’m wrong about this — but only half-wrong. After all, technology has been telling me what to think and arguably how to think for a long time. And I’ve embraced the convenience every step of the way. I haven’t memorized a phone number in years because my phone spoon feeds me the information. I use GPS even when close to home. I expect my laptop to retrieve frequently visited websites based on a single letter. I’ve willingly “conversed” with travel-agent chatbots. Heck, I remember when ATMs came on the scene, spitting out money at the press of a few buttons. What a marvel! So where do I get off railing against the latest iteration of a technology infrastructure that I’ve used without complaint? Because this time, I think, it’s different. This evolution is consequential in new ways. And I don’t like where it’s headed. I don’t want AI messing with my head in ways it’s now evidently capable of doing. An ATM will never mess with my head. <a href="https://medium.com/bigger-picture/angst-in-the-age-of-ai-af3d2f72d75c">Click Here</a>