A short one on AI

Published 2026-01-21

tag(s): #yell-at-cloud #programming #link-post #failures

In my last post I mentioned AI in one of the sections[1]. I posed the question: As people rely more on AI answers, will then their barometer to discern the actual answer from the ad portion of an AI text also go down? The next day, WHAM, Bruce Schneier: Could ChatGPT Convince You to Buy Something?.

Paid advertising in AI search, and AI models generally, could look very different from traditional web search. It has the potential to influence your thinking, spending patterns and even personal beliefs in much more subtle ways. Because AI can engage in active dialogue, addressing your specific questions, concerns and ideas rather than just filtering static content, its potential for influence is much greater. It’s like the difference between reading a textbook and having a conversation with its author.

The post is worth a read. But wait! There’s more!!! Today we had an hour-long meeting at work where AI was brought up about 984989848704989384938093938 times. Exactly. I counted.

Digression: disclaimers

I never added a disclaimer to the site stating "these opinions are my own and not from my employer" but...look around. What kind of employer would have something like this as their public image??? And if you are somehow confused on whether the opinions expressed here come from my employer or are mine...what can I say. That’s on you.

But also, having such a disclaimer strikes me as somewhat pompous. "So many people are going to read this, and assume that such elaborate opinions can only come from a team of thinkers paid by a major corporation. I better add a disclaimer". You don’t need to tell me the disclaimer is a case of CYA, it is obvious. But again, who can read these ramblings and come away thinking it isn’t just the product of a dude banging at his keyboard at night? I wish my employer asked me to review romance manga. Then the confusion would be justified...

Back to our programming

Another thing I said in my post was: All the tech giants have invested so much in AI, that unless every planet in the solar system has a need for it, there’s no way they can justify the amount of money they are burning. There has to be losers in this race, and it will be us consumers as usual.. Guess what! Today in that long meeting, someone[2] shared this great text by Cory Doctorow: The reverse-centaur apocalypse is upon us. From looking at the URL, I am about a 8 months late with my observation. I wonder if I heard something similar to this, and then forgot about it.[3]

It is a great read! Someone from my team also shared a video version of more or less the same ideas. I recommend either version. Very interesting.

n I also walked out of that meeting hopeful that at least a sizable chunk of people are not taking all the crazy productivity claims at face value. Yay.

Footnotes

1. Well, looking back, those were too disparate topics >_>
2. Obviously from the camp not so much in favor of AI...
3. To be honest, if would be happy to have had the thought on my own even if it is "late".

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