Ask Anything

Ask anything is not just a cap– it’s a movement. Motivated by connection and curiosity, driven by doubt and wonder, and powered by AI-tiredness.

“But Chat said…” Claude explained, “According to Gemini.” AI may answer quickly and easily, but it’s often misleading or false. Not to mention, it may include sponsored answers and ads. Chatbots like ChatGPT replace truth with “confident-sounding plausibility.” Moreover, they prevent you from thinking, wondering, or connecting with another human. The more we rely on chatbots, the less we exercise our brains to think critically and creatively. When we outsource simple tasks to machines, it becomes harder to perform more complex ones. The more comfortable we become interacting with confirmation-biased chatbots, the more alienated we become from others’ perspectives and ideas. We become less familiar with discussion, challenging our own thoughts, and communicating with people.

Silicon Valley presents AI as an inevitable step in evolution. The narrative they create is to get comfortable and not question it. However, AI is not inevitable nor a force of nature. It is being aggressively pushed into our lives by an industry that profits greatly from it and gains power as a result. It’s a new excuse for data hoarding, profiling, selling ads, and controlling the public option.

Janssen is not completely opposed to AI; she recognises the many positive things that machine learning can bring. However, she is concerned about LLMs, generative AI and chatbots, especially those driven by capitalistic incentives. “These technologies excuse mass surveillance, are filled with bias and discrimination, and push for optimisation for its own sake. This makes me sad and a little angry. Pouring AI sauce on everything might taste sweet at first, but it leaves an empty feeling and a nasty aftertaste.”

Generative content is full of nonsense. There is so much AI slop online that AI is learning from AI. This creates even more nonsense. AI isn’t intelligent or creative. It’s automation.

Using AI a lot prevents us from searching, playing, trying, experimenting, thinking critically, struggling, failing, and growing. It denies us the opportunity to take risks, learn, gain confidence in our capabilities, and make new connections with people and in our brains.

If we only live within the margins of algorithms, what does it mean to be human? AI promises frictionlessness, efficiency, and perfection. Life isn’t about being perfect. It’s the imperfections that make life magical. So, let’s bring back the magic!

Get a cap!