There’s something else I notice in my daily work with all kinds of different people, which I like to call “tech avoidance.”
For example, this week I helped someone set up an account on an online library platform we use. I had to tell them multiple times not to tap the buttons in the email, website, or app right away, but to read them first. They were clearly nervous, and you could tell they just wanted to finish as quickly as possible and get out of “that very techie situation” to simply use the apps.
I mean, yeah, I get it. Technology isn’t for everyone. But the (sad) fact is that we live in a world largely dominated by it. And although it has created many problems we now need to solve with even more technology, it also helps us solve many of the problems we had before.
My hope is that AI will evolve to the point where it can become a kind of companion for those people, guiding them through situations involving technology that they find difficult or intimidating.
For example, this week I helped someone set up an account on an online library platform we use. I had to tell them multiple times not to tap the buttons in the email, website, or app right away, but to read them first. They were clearly nervous, and you could tell they just wanted to finish as quickly as possible and get out of “that very techie situation” to simply use the apps.
I mean, yeah, I get it. Technology isn’t for everyone. But the (sad) fact is that we live in a world largely dominated by it. And although it has created many problems we now need to solve with even more technology, it also helps us solve many of the problems we had before.
My hope is that AI will evolve to the point where it can become a kind of companion for those people, guiding them through situations involving technology that they find difficult or intimidating.