Most of us have no idea what actually happens after we tap “send” on a message.
We don’t know exactly how Google decides which result deserves to be first. We probably couldn’t explain how Face ID recognizes us, how GPS knows where we are, or how an AI model turns a sentence into an answer.
And yet we use all of it without thinking twice.
I was thinking about this because technology used to have to prove itself to us.
The first time people bought something online, it felt risky.
Putting your credit card number into a website? Absolutely not.
Getting into a stranger’s car because an app told you to? Insane.
Letting your phone store your fingerprints, passwords, bank accounts and basically your entire life? Also insane.
Then we did it a few times.
Nothing terrible happened.
And suddenly it became normal.
I think that's one of the strangest things about technology. The biggest change isn't always the invention itself. It's the moment we stop noticing how strange the invention actually is.
AI seems to be going through that exact transition right now.
A few years ago, having a computer write an email, generate an image or hold a decent conversation sounded futuristic.
Now people get annoyed if the answer takes five seconds.
That happened incredibly fast.
It makes me wonder what we're using today that will feel completely ordinary in another five years.
And more interestingly, what sounds completely ridiculous today that we'll eventually wonder how we ever lived without.
Matthew Mahgerfteh
Top comments (0)