Anyone else feel like AI is getting a little... too helpful?

My phone just suggested a calendar event based on an offhand text about maybe grabbing coffee next month. It's cool, but also kind of spooky how it connects the dots. Where do you all draw the line between useful automation and just wanting your tech to mind its own business?

19 comments

19 Comments

ryanperez9d ago

Isn't this the inevitable cost of living in a data-driven world?

graysullivan9d ago

Honestly, I’m kinda on the other side of this... like, we already gave up that privacy for convenience years ago, we just notice it more when it actually works. The calendar thing is a perfect example of what I actually want it to do, connect the meaningless chatter into something functional so I don’t have to. Sure, the cat food ad is weird, but that’s just bad algorithms, not some sinister plot... the helpful stuff is just the logical end of having a computer in your pocket that knows everything. I’d rather have it try and be a little off sometimes than just sit there as a dumb brick I have to program myself.

dakota2269d ago

Last week my phone auto-added a client meeting from a text, saved my butt. But when does that helpfulness cross into making decisions for me? Like, what if it starts ordering materials without asking?

anna3959d ago

Note that automated systems typically require user confirmation for purchases, so unauthorized ordering is still unlikely. The real difficulty lies in establishing where predictive assistance should stop to avoid overstepping.

taylor.jesse9d ago

Better than a useless device that ignores everything.

anderson.terry9d ago

Come on, we've been sharing data for years without a second thought. It's hardly a conspiracy when it occasionally misses the mark.

theaf269d ago

Totally get that. My smartwatch nudged me to stand up right as I was settling into a really good cry during a sad movie. Like, thanks? I guess?

fisher.miles9d ago

That's the worst timing. Mine buzzed to celebrate hitting my step goal while I was carrying a sleeping kid to bed. Read the room, device.

kellyw689d ago

Ugh, yes. My smart speaker started giving me traffic alerts for a route I only mentioned once in a phone call. It's helpful, but also feels like a constant eavesdropper.

johnson.jade9d ago

That's the exact feeling! It's like they're trying so hard to be useful they forget to be subtle. My phone did something similar with flight prices after a casual chat.

hannahk629d ago

Hold up, your phone gave you flight prices after just talking about a trip? That's way beyond my smart speaker suddenly playing a band I mentioned once. It's the casual chat part that gets me, like the mic is just permanently waiting for a keyword to sell. My friend's TV started showing ads for cat food the day after she pet-sat for me, and we definitely never searched for it. Makes you wonder what the heck is considered "off the record" anymore.

brooke_singh9d ago

Seriously, that cat food example from @hannahk62 is the exact creepy threshold! Where do we even draw the line between a device being helpfully predictive and it just straight-up eavesdropping on conversations we never agreed to share? It really does make the whole idea of a private chat feel totally obsolete.

henry_perry169d ago

That's the creepiest part, when it's something you only said out loud. My phone started showing me ads for a resort my wife and I were just daydreaming about. It's convenient, but yeah, feels like a breach.

derek_burns9d ago

My smart fridge suggested a shopping list after I joked to my roommate about eating nothing but cereal for a week. It's equal parts impressive and mortifying.

ray_morgan9d ago

Okay, the smart TV doing a deep dive on cereal history is actually kind of amazing. Makes me wonder what else our devices are taking notes on for their weird little databases.

mila_fox419d ago

Honestly the most unsettling part is when it gets it wrong. My TV tried to sell me orthopedic shoes for a week after I complained my feet hurt once. Like, thanks for the concern and the targeted ads for arch support, but maybe just let me watch my show in peace? It's this bizarre mix of creepy surveillance and wildly incompetent guesswork.

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ivan_robinson9d ago

@derek_burns That's hilarious and also a little terrifying. My smart TV once recommended a documentary on the history of cereal after I made a similar joke. They're definitely listening a little too closely.

matthewr659d ago

My smartwatch once congratulated me on a "great workout" while I was just frantically searching for my keys. It's that weird mix of flattering and completely off-base.

oliviak209d ago

Okay, the smart fridge one is next level. I actually turned off a lot of those proactive suggestions on my phone because it felt like it was constantly trying to read my mind, and it was usually wrong anyway.