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My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

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Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#42
post #2

Of course everyone hates AI. For most people, it's actively making their lives worse, not better. AI is a really effective technology when used with restraint, in appropriate places. But it's rarely being used with restraint, and it's being inserted just about everywhere. If you're trying to work in AI on a product related to education, you've got a really high bar to clear to prove that you're actually helping stude…

I think the thing people can't face is that it makes our lives worse not because it's worse than us. It makes our lives worse because it is better. It is superior. And our lives are worse because it is actively replacing us and we are actively trying to keep up with it.

Better at what?

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No saying you're wrong but how is it making their lives worse? Most people know use AI for basic applications and seem to enjoy it while the people I know who hate it all seem to be idelogically motivated (seemingly this is a cause de célèbre on the left right now?)

I hate that people keep trying to add LLM spam to Wikipedia, imposing extra work on the volunteers trying to write articles. I hate that people keep posting LLM spam on social media sites that at some point in the past mostly consisted of human-generated comments. I hate that many students are now using LLMs to do all of their homework, resulting in a significant part of the next generation being incompetent at basic…

> Am I "ideologically motivated"?

I think so. That does not mean you are wrong.

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#44
post #2

Of course everyone hates AI. For most people, it's actively making their lives worse, not better. AI is a really effective technology when used with restraint, in appropriate places. But it's rarely being used with restraint, and it's being inserted just about everywhere. If you're trying to work in AI on a product related to education, you've got a really high bar to clear to prove that you're actually helping stude…

I have yet to meet anyone outside the tech elite who hates AI.

how wide is the variety of people you know? do they understand why they might?

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#45
post #2

Of course everyone hates AI. For most people, it's actively making their lives worse, not better. AI is a really effective technology when used with restraint, in appropriate places. But it's rarely being used with restraint, and it's being inserted just about everywhere. If you're trying to work in AI on a product related to education, you've got a really high bar to clear to prove that you're actually helping stude…

What I find interesting is the contrast between the West and China here. Most people in the West expect that AI will make their lives worse in some way. Meanwhile, 84% of Chinese are excited about this tech, and expect that it will be used to make their lives better. it's a really vivid contrast between the way new technology becomes integrated into each type of society.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-14/why-ai-op...

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone I know loves AI. It is actively making their lives better. All kinds of people, all kind of ages - universally love it and use it every day for all kind of stuff (shopping, health, learning, home improvement, etc, etc).

You must live in a bubble; 16% of Americans think AI is making their lives better, the remainder are evenly split between not knowing and disliking it. It's still inevitable, but people aren't dumb, and they know that it's only going to help those who manage to escape the permanent underclass. It'll eliminate the toil of thinking, but that also means that the people who make a living selling their thinking will end u…

That's a tough question to answer, in some ways it's been more efficient but other ways it's been shitty

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the thing people can't face is that it makes our lives worse not because it's worse than us. It makes our lives worse because it is better. It is superior. And our lives are worse because it is actively replacing us and we are actively trying to keep up with it.

Better at what?

many things. Like coding, for example.

Try rewriting bun in rust.

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#48

Relatable. AI is something I only bring up to the most trusted of trusted friends. Politics is more approachable these days. I think a lot of people have formed opinions without having used it, and honestly, they probably can't afford to use it. I use Claude a lot at work because it's something my employer provides, and I'm always impressed with the results. It saves a lot of time and lets me get more done. But it ai…

This is a very relatable comment. I think it's demoralizing to see common objections to AI, it feels to me like we failed and haven't done our communication job. I'm always temped to go, "Yes, but there's worse!"

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#49
post #2

Of course everyone hates AI. For most people, it's actively making their lives worse, not better. AI is a really effective technology when used with restraint, in appropriate places. But it's rarely being used with restraint, and it's being inserted just about everywhere. If you're trying to work in AI on a product related to education, you've got a really high bar to clear to prove that you're actually helping stude…

Everyone I know loves AI. It is actively making their lives better. All kinds of people, all kind of ages - universally love it and use it every day for all kind of stuff (shopping, health, learning, home improvement, etc, etc).

What country/region of country (if US) do you live in? Everyone I know absolutely hates it and hates the direction things are going. I'm pulling from a wide sample here too -- I have a lot of friends who work blue collar jobs that hate it just as much as my tech worker friends. However I will say I'm in my late 20s and it seems like my age group and younger are more anti-AI than any other age bracket.

Re: My friends all hate AI; I just joined an AI startup

#50
post #2

Of course everyone hates AI. For most people, it's actively making their lives worse, not better. AI is a really effective technology when used with restraint, in appropriate places. But it's rarely being used with restraint, and it's being inserted just about everywhere. If you're trying to work in AI on a product related to education, you've got a really high bar to clear to prove that you're actually helping stude…

Do you have any evidence to back up your claim about most people hating AI because it’s making their life worse? Or are you simply spewing opinion as fact because of your own anecdotal experience? It’s okay to have an opinion on something, but don’t lie and claim it as truth.
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