Computers are a lever, a force multiplier. If your process is shit, you can shit faster with a computer.

LLMs are another force multiplier. If your computerized process is a disaster … well, you said it and you’re right.

When I was young, the quote was still:

  To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer.

That quote was on my mind as I wrote that message. I think I saw it as a child but some time after I had begun writing BASIC code. It took a moment’s thought at the time, but I soon came to realize its truth.

Not so much AI itself, but the billions invested into it and the hardware required - anything you invest billions into but that doesn't have similar return on investment is a fast track to an economic crash / correction. The Y2K tech companies are a previous example, investors were champing at the bit to invest in uh, pets.com or whatever but turns out it didn't / wouldn't earn enough money to earn it back.

I agree with the economic argument.

But I literally mean if you have a crappy business and put AI into it you’re just gonna make your business worse.

AI as a tool is not actually a solution for very much. AI can mark a good process better but it will also make bad processes way worse.

It’s a power drill upgrade when you were previously only using a screwdriver, but it’s still not a table saw.