Chat is rarely a suitable interface for most tasks. Here, Maggie Appleton explores and prototypes some alternatives.
You do not have to use generative AI.
AI itself cannot be held to account.
If you use AI, you are the one who is accountable for whatever you produce with it.
There are contexts in which it is immoral to use generative AI.
Correcting or fact checking generative AI may take longer than just doing a task yourself, or with conventional AI tools.
You do not have to use generative AI.
I Feel Like I’m Going Insane
Everywhere you look, the media is telling you that OpenAI and their ilk are the future, that they’re building “advanced artificial intelligence” that can take “human-like actions,” but when you look at any of this shit for more than two seconds it’s abundantly clear that it absolutely isn’t and absolutely can’t.
Despite the hype, the marketing, the tens of thousands of media articles, the trillions of dollars in market capitalization, none of this feels real, or at least real enough to sustain this miserable, specious bubble.
We are in the midst of a group delusion — a consequence of an economy ruled by people that do not participate in labor of any kind outside of sending and receiving emails and going to lunches that last several hours — where the people with the money do not understand or care about human beings.
Their narrative is built on a mixture of hysteria, hype, and deeply cynical hope in the hearts of men that dream of automating away jobs that they would never, ever do themselves.
Generative AI is a financial, ecological and social time bomb, and I believe that it’s fundamentally damaging the relationship between the tech industry and society, while also shining a glaring, blinding light on the disconnection between the powerful and regular people. The fact that Sam Altman can ship such mediocre software and get more coverage and attention than every meaningful scientific breakthrough of the last five years combined is a sign that our society is sick, our media is broken, and that the tech industry thinks we’re all fucking morons.
Being “in tech” in 2025 is depressing, and if I’m going to stick around, I need to remember why I’m here.
This. A million times, this.
I urge you to read what Miriam has written here. She has articulated everything I’ve been feeling.
I don’t know how to participate in a community that so eagerly brushes aside the active and intentional/foundational harms of a technology. In return for what? Faster copypasta? Automation tools being rebranded as an “agentic” web? Assurance that we won’t be left behind?
We wonder often if what is created by AI has any value, and at what cost to artists and creators. These are important considerations. But we need to also wonder what AI is taking from what has already been created.
Robin takes a fair and balanced look at the ethics of using large language models.
I’m trying to be open to changing my mind when presented with new evidence.
I listened to a day of talks on AI at UX Brighton, and I came away disappointed by what wasn’t mentioned.
It’s almost as though humans prefer to use post-hoc justifications rather than being rational actors.
Using generative large-language model tools? Sleeping well at night?
How to destroy your greatest asset with AI.