Just add smart humans – and a pinch of dog
The most sobering observation in tech is not how much AI is taking on the appearance of the human mind. It's how much the human mind increasingly resembles Windows – not in functionality, although we all know that person, but in the way it crufts up and loses compatibility after years without an upgrade or reboot.We start shiny and new, with everything around us equally exciting, yet end up cursing all these damn changes and godawful broccoli-haired vibe coders. AI has turned many of the finest minds of their generation into Luddites, fearful for their jobs, status, and dignity. Augmented reality pushes people back even further. With its ability to record, recognize, and categorize all that it sees, it is the silent, invisible spirit in a demonic pact with its users. We no longer fear for our jobs; we fear for our souls.Hence the reflexive bans on Meta-style sin-oculars, everywhere from cafes in Seattle to DEF CON, where tech provocations to the status quo are normally welcome. The reasons for such bans are obvious, evidence-backed, and seemingly inarguable. Security, privacy, and dignity are all poisoned and traduced by always-on 21st century audio, video, and who knows what other sensors disguised as everyday human objects with an 800-year history. Ban the buggers. Nobody would argue with that.
