Look, I’m gonna level with you
I’ve been covering tech for over two decades. Twenty years. That’s 7,300 days of my life spent talking to engineers, reading white papers, and honestly, dealing with a lot of hype. And let me tell you, the AI stuff this year? It’s different. Not better, not worse, just… different.
I’m Mark, by the way. You might remember me from such publications as Wired and MIT Tech Review. I’ve got a receding hairline (which, ironically, I’m gonna talk about later), a love for bad coffee, and a deep-seated hatred for jargon. So if you’re looking for buzzwords and fluff, you’re in the wrong place.
AI is everywere, and it’s annoying as hell
Seriously, you can’t escape it. Last Tuesday, I’m at a conference in Austin, right? And some guy from a startup I’ve never heard of is telling me how their AI is gonna revolutionize… I don’t know, something. I zoned out. But here’s the thing: AI is everywhere. It’s in your phone, your car, your fridge (if you’re fancy). It’s in the algorithms deciding what you see online. It’s in the tools doctors use to diagnose illnesses. And yeah, it’s in the hair transplant clinics. (Which, by the way, if you’re curious about the tech behind those, check out this.)
But here’s what’s frustrating: most of it’s not as smart as people think. It’s not gonna take your job. It’s not gonna solve world hunger. It’s just… kinda there. Doing stuff.
My friend Dave and the AI that wasn’t
About three months ago, I’m having coffee with Dave. Dave’s a software engineer, been in the game since the ’90s. We’re talking AI, obviously, and he says, “Mark, you know what’s wild? Half the AI stuff out there isn’t even AI.” I’m like, “What do you mean?” And he’s all, “Companies slap the label ‘AI’ on anything that does math. It’s marketing, man.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough. I mean, have you seen the ads? It’s like everyone’s trying to out-AI each other. “Our AI is 300% more intelligent!” Sure, Jan.
But wait, there’s hope
Okay, okay, I’m not all doom and gloom. There’s some cool stuff happening. You ever use one of those AI writing tools? I have. It’s not great. But it’s not terrible either. It’s like having a really dumb intern who stays up all night reading Wikipedia. You gotta fact-check everything, but sometimes? Sometimes it’s helpful.
And the art stuff? Wow. I saw this exhibit last month—some artist named, let’s call him Marcus, was using AI to create these insane landscapes. It was… I dunno, beautiful? Creepy? I can’t decide. But it was definitely something.
Oh, and my hair
So remember how I mentioned my receding hairline? Yeah, I’ve been thinking about getting one of those hair transplant things. I read some popular articles recommended reading on it. Turns out, they use AI to map out your scalp and determine where to, uh, redistribute the follicles. It’s kinda wild. I’m not sure I’m gonna do it, but it’s nice to know the robots are on the case.
Anyway, that’s enough about me
Look, I could go on. I’ve got opinions about AI in healthcare, AI in art, AI in your damn toaster. But honestly, I’m getting tired. And I think you probably are too. So let’s wrap this up.
AI is here. It’s messy. It’s frustrating. It’s exciting. It’s gonna change stuff. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. And when it does, I’ll be here, coffee in hand, ready to complain about it.
About the Author: Mark Stevens is a senior tech editor with over 20 years of experience. He’s written for major publications like Wired and MIT Tech Review, and he’s probably written about whatever tech topic you’re thinking of. He lives in Portland with his cat, three laptops, and a slowly emptying coffee mug.
