I got my CS degree in 1988, just as the personal computer revolution was washing over the world. There was a lot of hand-wringing back then too, about how the computer would take away people's ability to think and do things on their own.

But I didn't make something of my career by wringing my hands about the down sides of the new computer technologies. I was *excited* about the possibilities I could see, and dove headlong into it. The result was a very fun, long, and exciting, not to mention well-paying, career.

Today, I'm again excited about this latest new technology. Yeah, it will have some down sides, I get it. But that's not going to stop me from leveraging it to its fullest potential. And, I'm having fun doing it.

Yep, and last year I ordered my whole-house generator, from the manufacturer, on Walmart.com.

There are around 3,000 billionaires in the world, one for every 2.3 million people.

I think within each of these "groups" of 2.3 million people, we'll find ways to live our lives, just among ourselves.

Contrary to the headlines, remote work is still available for those who want it. I'm having no trouble finding openings that are fully remote.

Every invention since the iron age has helped evildoers, and good people alike. AI is no different.

The good news is, the technology also gives "powers" to those who want to fight hackers.

People who use Windows computers, typically have no idea how to put Linux on a desktop. For them, Windows works fine, because the computer came with it preinstalled. They don't actually care what the OS is, they just want it to run Word, Excel, and let them browse the web. For people like that, Windows does indeed work perfectly well.

You are imagining rich, large companies where you have likely worked.

There are a ton of small companies, small warehouses, mom and pop restaurants, plumbers, and a myriad other small businesses that have no desire to upgrade their computers. It's a major pain and expense for them, and they don't have staff that know how to do it. So they keep that old PC going as LONG as they can.

As a software developer, I personally have two Windows PCs that don't quality for the upgrade. They're both working just fine, they're not even noticeably slower than my newest laptop, which is a couple of years old. I used Rufus to upgrade them to Windows 11, the tool worked great, I've had zero problems afterwards. The thing is, you've got to be a tech geek to be able to use a tool like Rufus.

No, I don't agree that it's a small problem.

Never mind the failed demo. I'm trying to imagine living with this technology if it DID work perfectly.

WhatsApp message notifications popping up constantly in front of your nose. Popup ADS you can't escape.

Sounds like hell to me.

No, I don't think this was just the "demo effect."

The BSOD experienced by Bill Gates on screen, that was clearly the "demo effect." It was a truly unexpected interruption to the demo.

If you watch the videos linked in the summary, you can see that the core functionality isn't close to ready. Never mind AI, he did successfully "click" the "answer call" button on the screen (after the first time failed), and it still didn't actually...answer the call.

As someone who has given many, many software demos, complete with a few failures, one thing I've learned is, when you give a demo, you'd better rehearse. And when you give a high-stakes demo, you'd better rehearse multiple times. And if the rehearsal showed unreliability, you'd better know why it failed before you go into a live demo, or you should cancel the demo. THAT's how you overcome Murphy's Law of Demos.

After watching the videos, I think the demo succeeded in showing that the technology isn't ready. This isn't a BSOD moment.

The demo of the recipe made clear that the AI didn't understand the concept of "first". The video call demonstration showed that the control mechanisms are flaky, not that Zuck just had bad luck on stage. It also showed how intrusive the technology would be. Can you imagine every WhatsApp message popping up in front of you, regardless of what you're doing? Watch the video, you'll be able to imagine.

If you think AI is actually "smart" you're going to be in for a letdown. And I say that as someone who thinks AI *is* a great tool that is useful for many things.

So they sued Disney instead???

Both routes lead to a lawsuit.

Seems more like a publicity stunt to me.

"Look at us! We're suing Disney!"

Yeah that does tend to make things explode!

I guarantee, if you don't have your Helium-3 within 100 years, I'll give you your money back!

I can see you've got no answer.

Your anecdote does point to some *neighborhoods* that are in decline, but I'm not sure it can be extrapolated to all of society. In the Houston area, where I live, there are Walmarts in both wealthy suburbs, and in the inner city. They do indeed have different selections of products in locked cases. This does not indicate to me that Houston is in decline--it is, in fact, the second-fastest growing large city in the US, second only to New York City. That doesn't sound like "decline" to me.