How Generative AI is Not Like My Toaster Oven

Generative AI is still in an age of innocence. If funded by the US Govt., applications become weapons steered into harmful adolescent fits of anarchistic rage, just like its nihilist makers.

I chose my title carefully because technology is brought into our lives and utilized. People ascribe meaningful use to their automated technology.

Since the 2000’s, computing are connected objects online that can “see and say”. They can witness things about us and relay those things as data to others. These ‘others’ work technology at companies.  They work for people who often, not always, do not care what happens to you as a result of using their products. However, they have made it a habit to pretend in front of TedX, marching alone on a headset, in front of a projector, to audiences that: they care, they know what they’re doing and they know what’s best for you because they can automate the science.  

Of course, we experienced at least two decades of life now with the default of allowances of always-on tech. These are the Internet-of-Things, with no real power switches and minimal data management options. We have found flaws in their product safety and illegal overreach from the government as a billed amenity on contract. We have discovered they just don’t tell us what they are doing with our data or with our children’s data when it is sprayed all over the Internet.  We even discovered they are selling us to China and that they use slave labor to manufacture the “ethical” tech sitting on our tables and in our pockets.

They smile. They wear Oxford shirts, with no tie and khaki’s and send you into service-less complaint remedy queue’s with clipped options. They have your data. All they see, when they see you is digital livestock. You’re not a human, but all of their technology is!!

So “ethical” in all this lying for your sake -FOR YOUR BENEFIT- to make the world a cleaner more equitable place for propaganda, censorship and genocidal sanctions by algorithmic manipulation, coupling your personal economy with their version of your reputation.

I say ‘their version’ because as long as they control the markets for reputation, they can jigger the levers. Their stock moves juuuust the way they want it to. This is based on whether you are a good person or a bad person according to the almighty algorithm!  (Am I bad person?) Uhh, they don’t care. However, if the Democratic Socialist Billionaire’s cluubh is paying for catering and their PR bought the account – you are a rotten no-good scoundrel and nothing you do or say is worth hearing until the middle of next month when the campaign ends.  

Your business may be ruined. Your life will get turned upside down. Your family will be in a stress position in new ways they never thought about before, because these reputation factory farmers have bugged your life.  They don’t care. The FTC… should care. Your government should care.  You should care. However, if you expect the technologists to care – they won’t.  This is the fruit from their tree.

They’re not really that trustworthy. They are barely legal, most times. They spend sooo much money on “regulating the Internet” with lawyers who live on K-Street to keep things the way they are.  They have made a bad habit out of judging people adversely who don’t make them money.

To remedy that they start these little divisive campaigns to amplify or deamplify messaging on the Internet to demonstrate they are a bully pulpit. Even worse people, with even less moral form and way more money than you, line up with lots of cash pay these companies to dominate their “bully pulpit” based on who is online…. And they know you are online, because they manufactured the tech so YOU would always be online.

I kinda think they are bad people, and they are making way way WAY too many decisions about your life, with your tax money and manipulating the governments of this world so they can do it.

So this is exactly how the environment around generative AI is not like my toaster oven.

My toaster oven is also an automated technology. It will make my pastries warm. It will burn things if I don’t place the settings right.  It rings the timer bell when it’s done to let me know I have hot food. I trust my toaster oven. I am not a luddite. I love my automated toaster machine that learns what I like in the settings.  It’s not online though.

My toaster would never tell the Feds I am a rotten person because I had a question about what’s in the COVID-19 vaccine. Oster would never have the ability to manufacture a swarm of struggle shaming bots to make it look like I have more enemies than I actually do.  It would never disenfranchise my Senator from the platform for opposing a legislative measure based on who paid them off to sanction his speech.  It would never tell a solicitous engineer when I am most likely to be walking around in my bathrobe or making out with my spouse. It would never sell the data to Target so they can send ads for condoms or pregnancy tests to my phone.

I think these technologists are overfunded by the US DoD and any other intelligence agency in the federal government for their ability to harm the “hearts and minds” of the American public.  If they never got another dime of promotional or elective development funding to produce a C-Level round for their send-it-to-China AWS app, I would be a very happy woman. Why? 

I prefer my dumb old toaster to their smart, overdeveloped predator AI.