AI, like NFTs and cryptocurrency, is the buzzword that’s enchanted the tech industry. But where those two concepts failed, AI is seemingly flourishing.
AI is the future, or so we’re told. Apps are integrating it left and right, and not including AI is almost seen as being behind the times. What’s wrong, granddad? Scared of the big bad chatbot?
It seems simple: Put AI in your product, and it makes everything better! Only, the warning signs are getting larger and brighter even as more devices and apps shoehorn AI into any space they can find.
It’s all going to end in tears. AI doesn’t have a place in every app, device, and service, and companies need to stop trying to make it happen.
6 Android apps I keep on my phone specifically because they ignore AI
Android apps that do their jobs without AI getting in the way
I hate to admit it, but AI has its uses
As a self-confessed AI hater, this is a difficult admission to make. But yeah, there are places where AI works.
The changes it’s made in certain industries are undeniable, and in my own personal life, I’ve found places where AI fits quite nicely.
Take Magic Cue. Despite others on Android Police having bad experiences with it, and my own ego-shattering start, I’ve found Magic Cue to be quite useful in the time I’ve had it.
I have similar testimonies about the Google Pixel’s call screening and recording features. It’s handy, useful stuff that makes my life easier by slotting into it.
I, like seemingly most of the world, have recently bought a Fitbit Air, and I’m enjoying using the AI Coach that came with it.
Gemini itself has been something of a fun companion too, and I’ve used it to brainstorm ideas about Warhammer 40,000 and getting back into martial arts.
It’s all very positive, right? Well, it was, until I discovered Gemini was lying to my face about some crucial stuff. And that, really, highlighted why AI doesn’t have a place everywhere it’s being forced into.
Adding it to everything is asking for trouble
Too many people think AI is basically Google Search, but conversational — and that’s a problem.
The idea that AI is an all-powerful, all-knowing overlord has been common in fiction and media for decades, and that idea is lodged firmly in people’s heads.
That has poisoned the well of understanding pretty thoroughly, and as a result, a lot of people think AI is always right.
The reality is far from the truth.
Modern AI, as we know it, is essentially a guessing machine. Educated guesses, yes, but guesses nonetheless.
Every time you prompt a chatbot, it mathematically calculates the most likely answer based on its database of knowledge.
And because that answer is based on probabilities, not actual understanding, sometimes it gets stuff wrong. We call those incorrect answers hallucinations, and they’re an inevitable side effect of the way AI works.
No AI can truly understand the data it consumes and regurgitates, and as a result, it cannot judge what is trustworthy or reliable.
As long as that is the case, AI cannot be used for anything other than the most frivolous of activities.
Take the Amazon Kindle’s new Story So Far feature. This AI-powered feature is supposed to give you a spoiler-free catch-up of any story you’re reading, up to the point where you stopped.
The idea is to help you get back into a book you faltered with, and it’s a good idea on the surface.
But would you really trust a hallucinating AI not to give you spoilers or just make up something else entirely? I wouldn’t.
I haven’t tested this feature, and it may be very good, but I would struggle to trust it. Personally, I’ll be avoiding it like the plague.
Even then, a lot of these AI features feel … pointless.
In recent weeks, we’ve had a slew of such “features” from Google.
YouTube’s “custom feed”, for instance, uses AI-powered prompts to create you a new home page full of the type of videos you’ve requested.
My brother in Android, that’s what the search function already does, and it doesn’t need AI to do it.
The Ask Photos feature on Google Photos is similar. It’s basically the search it already had, but it’s able to understand longer requests that you’ll never use, and is slower than the regular search.
Neither is really an upgrade on what we had before, except, I guess, it has the word “AI” in it now?
Even worse, no one cares about so many of these AI apps and services. Google killed Pixel Studio last week, and no one cared. I’m not even sure how many people noticed.
That leads to an even bigger question: If no one cares, who’s going to pay for all of this?
I’m not going to pay for AI features in every app, and very few will
We’ve recently seen a big change in how AI is paid for.
Most services have put up their prices and moved to use-based limits as well.
Customers are now often paying more than they did before, and with more stringent limitations in place.
But the biggest change has come to businesses, who are finding they’re paying way more than they had previously, and are burning through a year’s worth of tokens in a fraction of the time.
“What’s the return on investment here?” is the question being repeated in boardrooms across the world, and the answer doesn’t look like a happy one.
Will some people pay for AI use? Absolutely! Will they pay for every app that has it? Of course not.
Maybe the whales will save us all? The app economy is famously based on whales paying for everyone else’s use, but it feels like a far stretch for them to ride to our rescue here.
AI is expensive, and it’s not getting any cheaper.
I won’t lie, I might end up paying for Google Health’s AI Coach. I don’t trust it, but I enjoy how it takes the difficulty out of finding short exercise routines and finding time in my schedule. It’s useful.
Will I pay for Gemini? Absolutely not. I definitely won’t pay for most of the AI-powered features in apps I already use.
I’ve said this before, and I’m sure to say this again — it feels as if AI is being included because “it’s the future,” and nobody wants to get left behind. Besides, investors love it, and you have to keep them happy.
These are not good reasons to add a new feature, especially one as expensive as AI.
I suspect we’re going to see a lot of these features removed, but not before they cost people a lot of money and effort.
Welcome to the future. It’s expensive, pointless, and soon to become a cautionary tale.
8.5/10
- Battery Life
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7 days
- Health sensors
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Optical heart rate, 3-axis accelerometer, temperature sensor
- Dimensions
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35 x 17 x 8.3mm (Module)
- Water Resistance
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50 meters
