As a child of the 80s and 90s, let me tell you how it was in the beforetimes.
Nobody had to tell us that smartphones were inevitable. Anyone who could afford a mobile phone got one, because a telephone you could carry with you in your pocket solved a clear and distinct social problem.
Nobody had to tell us that the Internet was inevitable. Anyone who could get online by hook or by crook did it, because access to the internet solved a clear and distinct social problem.
Nobody had to tell us that email was inevitable. Anyone who could get a yahoo or netzero email address immediately got one. Because almost instantaneous letters that could be sent to anyone in the world solved a clear and distinct social problem.
You know what they actually did try to tell us was "inevitable"? Robocalls. Phishing sites. Spam. Robocalls that woke you in the middle of the night to sell you car insurance. Phishing sites that looked like your bank but weren't. Spam that clogged up your inbox so bad you couldn't find that one important email you were expecting.
"AI is inevitable." they say.
Yep. I've seen this one before. It's inevitable in the way spam is inevitable. As a problem that needs solving. Not as the solution to anything. In the same way phishing sites are inevitable. As the result of criminals using technology to harm society and enrich themselves. In the same way robocalls were inevitable. As the natural result of human greed set loose without legal restrictions or boundaries.
Sure. AI is inevitable. But we invented Do Not Call registries to combat robocallers. And we invented two factor authentication to combat phishing scams. And we invented the spam filter to combat spam. And someday soon, some bright young woman or man will invent a tool to combat the scourge of AI imitation and fraud. That, too, is inevitable. And then, everybody will get one. And we can all look back and see AI for what it always was. Not a solution, but a problem to be solved.
