This essay by Nilay Patel is getting a lot of attention. I’ve been saying for a while that there is going to be a serious rift in society over AI. That doesn’t mean that everyone hates it. Nearly a billion people use ChatGPT every week.

Mac fans used to dream of the future that Apple showed in the Knowledge Navigator concept video. Now we are very close to having it. Most of what was in that video is possible. And yet, some people no longer seem to want that future, in large part because they don’t trust AI companies.

Maybe our belief in new technology has been warped by cynicism. We’ve been beaten down by ad platforms, manipulated by algorithms. We’ve grown weary of the relentless pace of Silicon Valley. We assume every CEO must be a liar and that even good intentions are corrupted by money.

Or maybe… Maybe the potential for AI to positively impact the world is real. Of course there will be opportunists and scammers too. But we can narrow in on the good, weaving it into our software in a way that is helpful. Finding the right balance, so that AI is useful without feeling forced on users.

Earlier this year I blogged a strategy for how I want to use AI thoughtfully in Micro.blog. It has been a good guide for me, like user-centered guardrails. There is still so much we can build that fits within that strategy, hopefully avoiding the worst “put AI in everything” fixation from bigger companies that users are rejecting.

Ming-Chi Kuo in a tweet about potential OpenAI smartphone plans:

OpenAI is working with MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop smartphone processors, with Luxshare as the exclusive system co-design and manufacturing partner. Mass production is expected in 2028.

Makes sense to be experimenting with this, but I think a smart speaker is the best first hardware product for OpenAI. Amazon and Apple have left an opening for a new product that doesn’t depend on phone access. Only when OpenAI gets that right should they move on to other devices.

Meanwhile, also over the weekend, Sam Altman posted to the OpenAI blog a list of principles for the company. It’s a formalization of what he’s been saying in speeches and interviews for the last few months. Fits with my recent blog post about OpenAI getting its name right.

In many ways, I think the growing competition with Anthropic has helped OpenAI articulate their own message. OpenAI has fumbled around with side projects so much over the last couple of years that they might’ve lost the big picture. Let’s see if they’ve regained it.