Where AI Goes

I'm not excited about AI. I will tell you why.

I say this, mind you, as a guy who works fairly high up in the IT food chain. I deal with complex databases, human interfaces with data, the Internet, and so on. I'm not afraid of technology. I embrace it and use it.

Let's look first at humans. People need to work and push themselves forward. We need challenges and a bit of adversity, which is why competitive sports are popular. But humans struggle with complex topics. Most people don't find computers intuitive at all and are not proficient with computers. It goes without saying that as computers become more complex, the intellect required to build and maintain them gets further out of the reach of the average Joe and Jane.

This is why I have said for two decades now that computer efficiency is a euphemism for human replacement. The more efficiency there is in a computer process, the fewer people are required because the computer does the work. I think this is why we see people turning to creating entertainment as a means of income. From OnlyFans, which makes it easy for young girls to sell themselves to others, to people who aspire to become a social influencer, to people willing to stupidly risk their lives for a bit of money.

None of this is positive. It's a result of people believing that they can make a quick buck in exchange for some financial stability in the future. It's because they don't see room for themselves elsewhere in the economy.

And more people see their job functions being replaced by computers. We now have completely automated fast food restaurants, for example. Software engineers are about to meet the AI system that writes better code than they do. Bill Gates sees a future where doctors and teachers are replaced by AI.

Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe sees traditional trade work being safe from AI for the near future, but even graphic design and writing are quickly being done by AI. Movie creation is soon being done by AI - even the actors.

So, we can perhaps say that AI can augment and enhance what humans can do. Excel makes computation easier, of course. The computer expands my capability here. Using a database does the same, but it does what a human can't do. That would be the difference. When the computer starts doing what the human can do, then humans are no longer necessary. When humans use chatGPT to do the writing for them, then the skill of writing dissipates for the humans who do that. chatGPT doesn't improve our writing skills. It replaces them. And often, badly.

All of this, too, is a net negative.

But where I am most concerned is water. AI needs water for cooling. A lot of water. And they're poisoning the water with anti-freeze.

"Google states that, in 2021 on average, just one of its data centers used 450,000 gallons of water per day in its operation. That is the equivalent of water use from over 100,000 homes." People in Abilene are reportedly being asked to cut back on showers.

Finally, some of the richest people in the world who can control the direction of AI are simply evil. The World Economic Forum isn't a big fan of regular people, and Bill Gates himself warned about population growth, but the reverse is the case - humans are not reproducing at the rate necessary to repopulate the earth. We've seen what an engineered virus can do to shut down society. China has the intention of knowing our genetics. What happens when AI is turned loose to create a custom-engineered virus based on individual DNA?

That's really the danger. Consuming resources, like water, necessary for humans and creating bad outcomes for targeting humans by bad actors.

"Oh but that's why we need AI - to come up with ways to stop these bad outcomes."

The cold war, with its threat of nuclear holocaust, was bad enough. We knew those actors. It was a public threat. Just wait for the teenager in his bedroom who is mad at the world and uses AI to find interesting ways to undo people.

This is why I'm not excited about AI.

5 Comments

Cindi Castilla (Aug 11, 2025 12:53 PM):

As we are working to understand the pros and cons of AI and seeing lots of issues with it, you added another we hadn't thought of. The knowing of our genetics, even our health information in general could be a huge threat. Thank you for the great "conversation!"

Martha MJ (Aug 11, 2025 1:07 PM):

Thank you for this insight. I, like Cindi, had a thought about our genetics. This is scary and they can and will do it if they have to. I had read an article in the water last week as well. That’s not good. Thank you for this! Very insightful info. 127482127480

Janice Carter (Aug 11, 2025 3:00 PM):

I can and do see the dangers of AIs involvement in our daily lives but I also see some real advantages to it in the family history research that I do. When the 1940 census was released it took 5 years for it to be indexed and released online for research. When the 1950 census came out it only took a few months for AI to index and then it was released online for research. My church has digitized church records from many countries and then used AI to translate the records and then index them and make them available online. Janice Carter

Sharon Fisher (Aug 11, 2025 3:12 PM):

I place AI in my “I don’t understand how it works” folder among with 3D printers. As you well know, because without you I would not have had a website, the only thing I have mastered is Word, Email, and photos. And I say this without embarrassment or shame.

Mark A (Aug 16, 2025 9:34 AM):

Why do so many sci fi movies keep coming true? Bad trend...