AI is a Boring Technology

I’m looking forward to the day when the word AI in a headline reads the way electric does now. Electric toothbrush. Electric kettle. The word survives in a few places where it still distinguishes one thing from another, and everywhere else it fell away, because announcing that something runs on electricity stopped telling anyone anything. While out walking our dog this morning, I found myself turning the comparison into a question. Is electricity as interesting as what you can make under a lamp at night? Is the internet as interesting as what you can send over it to someone? And then the one I actually care about: is AI as interesting as what it helps you do? I don’t think it is, and I mean that as a compliment. AI is a boring technology. It’s infrastructure — and the sooner we get used to thinking of it that way, the sooner we can stop being astonished and get back to making things. But I also want to be careful with that word, because it’s doing a lot of work and using it risks…