AI lets mediocrity thrive

I started my morning by going through AI-generated slides. There were no factual mistakes, the style was smooth and easy to read, the colors were well-matched and visually appealing, and the transitions between slides were logical, tying all the information into one coherent story. And yet, it bothered me to my core. Why, I wonder?

When used wisely, AI is actually a great thing.

I still use it for very basic tasks – prompting it to collect information from the web or a specific database, relying on it to transcribe interviews, and writing meeting summaries. I’ve also tried other “simple” things like generating reports, slides, and crafting emails on my behalf.

I’ve submitted an AI-generated report only once. I provided all the information and analysis, carefully vetted the end product, and clearly stated to stakeholders that I used AI, even apologizing for doing so.

To me, receiving AI-generated material – or worse, resorting to AI for tasks like writing, which once required talent and hard work – can often feel demeaning and insulting. Even with human oversight, it feels like cheating or being cheated on.

So far, I’ve figured out the 2 main reasons why AI can sometimes feel like cheating.

First of all, there’s the selling point AI carries. While the technology behind it is a game-changer, many of the applications we see advertised just raise an eyebrow.

How about a sex toy connected to ChatGPT?

Or, as if dental work wasn’t expensive enough, a Dyson AI toothbrush that costs $500?

There was once talk of AI airbrushes and AI-powered BBQ grills, AI birdfeeders, AI keychains, AI pet rocks, AI toasters (for burning messages into your toast), and many more.

While some of these AI gadgets will probably stick around – sometimes without an obvious reason – most of them, being just simple everyday items connected to AI, will vanish, leaving the few customers who bought them with lighter pockets.

Then, of course, there are many AI-powered systems that actually sell, such as Flock cameras. But since they can be and often are turned against citizens, that doesn’t bring us any closer to loving AI.

The second thing that bothers me about AI is that it allows stupidity to hide behind it and thrive. A person who could fluently talk about their ideas, use a foreign language, and quote written sources used to be considered smart. They might not always be intelligent. However, they would still have to put in a lot of effort to bamboozle those around them.

These days, especially in written communication, there are far fewer tell-tale signs of a lack of intelligence. People craft their thought streams with AI, adding fancy words they likely didn’t know existed a moment ago, perfecting faulty logic and flow. Unless you take a deeper look, they sound clever and convincing.

And since they use AI, their posts adhere to the day's algorithm rules and get pushed to more people.

All of a sudden, these dummies become influential. I’m not saying their opinions don't matter, but this is precisely why propaganda and conspiracy theories are so powerful when you ground crazy ideas in selective facts. It becomes very dangerous indeed.