AI nowaday is like Bluetooth 20 years ago: they put it everywhere where it's almost never useful

Or even like modern wifi. I saw a vacuum with wifi capabilities. Do I really need to check my vacuum battery level from my phone?

This is so spot on. I use AI all the time, but the hype and "we should AI all the things" is ridiculous.

I blame it on bullshit jobs. Too many people have to come up with weekly nonsense busywork tasks just to justify themselves. Also the usual FOMO. "Guys, we can't fall behind the competition on this!"

I work for a fairly big IT company. They're currently going nuts about how generative AI will change everything for us and have been for the last year or so. I'm yet to see it actually be used by anyone.

I imagine the new Microsoft Office copilot integration will be used only slightly more than Clippy was back in the day.

But hey, maybe I'm just an old man shouting at the AI powered cloud.

So you are saying that AI today is like Bluetooth today

I remember seeing a DankPods video about a rice cooker with quote-unquote "AI rice" technology. Spoiler alert: there is no AI in there.

So... it's not even putting it in something where it's not useful, it's straight up false advertising.

This reminds me I'm into season 5 of Burn Notice and Sam said at one point, "I'm on Bluetooth if you need me". It was a weird reminder that once upon a time people were paid to advertise just... Bluetooth, because that's a brand name. These days it's just everywhere.

The product placements in that show are not exactly subtle. Excellent show though, I did not expect it to hold up so well.

I was in an auto parts store yesterday and saw that you can buy a can of that stuff to fix your AC and the damn can has Bluetooth capabilities. So no, we’re still not done putting Bluetooth where it doesn’t need to be.

Or like the blockchain 5 years ago

Or like VR 10 years ago

Or like 3D 15 years ago

It is the hot new thing that you have to use for the VCs to fund your company and for investors to buy your stocks, regardless of the actual utility. AI does seem to have at least more possibilities of usage than those technologies, but it also have an incredibly higher possibility of misuse that is being completely ignored by these companies

Like bluetooth. So, not particularly good even for the applications it's supposed to be used for

Makes me feel a little better. In 2024 I Can't get a "Windows ready" Bluetooth dongle to be recognized by my still supported Windows computer.

To be fair, we only know where Bluetooth is useful because we put it in a lot of places where it wasn't useful

That scene in Better Call Saul with the investment guy permanently on his BT earpiece was such a wave of nostalgia for me, used to see those everywhere in the 2000s with a little blue light on them flashing.

is it just me who hasn't ever had any bluetooth problems?

And it will inevitably lead to security compromises.

"VR in the 80s" is my go to analogy. Sooo many promises, such tantalizing potential.... and zero follow through

I'm too young to know what Bluetooth was like 20yrs ago, can anyone elucidate?

Hey! Bluetooth is more useful than AI.

I'm still angry about my waterproof Bluetooth headphones i bought to do laps.

Reminds me of the "mineshaft gap" speech at the end of Dr. Strangelove.

I have bluetooth headphones that are being advertised as using "AI technology" to make call quality better. Its such a joke

Almost a good take. Except that AI doesn't exist on this planet, and you're likely talking about LLMs.

Please tell me how Bluetooth isn’t useful?

It is like electricity

Okay I'll bite. Where exactly has it not been useful? that you all have had the chance to interact least once.

Edit: Bruh, it's a legit question. If you feel attacked by this neutral info gathering enough to downvote you have a sad, sad life.