AI is the asbestos of the web
For years, I’ve been saying that JavaScript is the CO2 of the web.
On Saturday, Cory Doctorow described AI as modern asbestos, and I’m blown away by just how accurate of a description that is.
AI cannot do your job, but an AI salesman can 100% convince your boss to fire you and replace you with an AI that can’t do your job, and when the bubble bursts, the money-hemorrhaging “foundation models” will be shut off and we’ll lose the AI that can’t do your job, and you will be long gone, retrained or retired or “discouraged” and out of the labor market, and no one will do your job.
AI is the asbestos we are shoveling into the walls of our society and our descendants will be digging it out for generations.
Cory goes deeeeep into the financials of the AI bubble, how it can never be profitable, and how the sooner we pop it, the better we’ll be.
You should go read the whole thing.
But I’ll leave you with this…
AI isn’t going to wake up, become superintelligent and turn you into paperclips – but rich people with AI investor psychosis are almost certainly going to make you much, much poorer.
Related: A Bug’s Life is a very good movie.