We are all tech people here, but the regular people meet AI when they try to take a picture with their phone and Gemini pops up instead, because a button has been repurposed to do that.
Or simply calling an energy provider to clarify something makes them talk to a robot voice until enough effort and words have passed so a human finally comes around.
These are very shallow and small things where it already creeps in and the fun part is that you cannot blame the AI for it, but what we do with it.
If you use AI unironically, hallucinations can make you go down a wrong path and cost you time. Something that used to be a quick google search leads you to AI generated sites making stuff up, so even when you talk to AI directly, you practically get the same-y or slightly different answer.
Reading documents starts to become a challenge as well. Bad translations or made up stuff can waste your time as well.
Then you just want to take a walk to the river and the river has the lowest water level since forever (rhine river) and you think to yourself, hmm, this can't be right.
Like what do you save all of this time and effort for? Is it truly balanced and sane what we are doing right now?
Doesn't all the time saving show detrimental effects in areas we cannot point at currently because of plausible deniability or wishful thinking?
Thanks for the candid response. Do you think that many of these examples were issues before, but now have become associated with AI?
I can relate to many of them, but they seem to predate AI for me.
I feel like Google search has been nearly useless for several years now, flooded with fake advertising results, even without AI. I'm happy that AI gives me an alternative to Google search, which is one of my top use cases.
I remember spending hours navigating annoying automated phone menus or on hold 10 years ago. Perhaps the same frustration exists, but includes AI is the face of the current embodiment.
I also agree AI can give bad advice, but the same was true for Reddit or a lazy Store employee or house contractor.