AI Adoption Is a Total Dead End Until We Dare to Innovate
Hello everyone. Let’s talk about the article’s heartwarming little tech adoption fairy tale – you know, the one where every shiny new gadget or software allegedly follows a predictable evolutionary ladder. Stage 1: it’s a toy for obsessive hobbyists who collect obscure interests like Pokémon cards. Great. Stage 2: it becomes a slightly more useful toy, adopted by people who just want to save time or a few dollars, like giving up their trip to Blockbuster back in the day (ask your grandparents, kids). And then – allegedly – the “real” innovation begins. Sounds nice, right? Yeah, until you realize this is the same story recycled since the telegraph and about as groundbreaking as discovering water is wet.
The Hobbyist Myth
First, let’s pick apart the “hobbyist leads the revolution” myth. Sure, your ham radio enthusiast uncle and that one guy who learned theremin in college love being early adopters. But they’re not the ones shifting the tectonic plates of industry. They’re the tutorial level of the game – you know, the part where you fumble the controls and accidentally throw your sword off a cliff. Fun? Sure. Transformative? Not remotely. Hobbyists are the charmingly eccentric NPCs. Necessary? Maybe. Heroes? No.
Shortcut Stage: Aka The Lazy Upgrade
Then we hit Stage 2 – the shortcut stage. This is the part where companies and individuals get excited because the new tech lets them do the exact same thing as yesterday, only marginally faster and cheaper. Email instead of fax. Netflix DVDs instead of late fees and awkward small talk at the rental counter. The transistor radio instead of its clunky tube ancestor. And now, AI that… essentially does exactly what we were doing before but in less time. This isn’t innovation – it’s speedrunning your mundane chores. Efficiency is a nice buff, but it’s still playing the same old campaign.
AI: The Shiny Tool We’re Using to Do Yesterday’s Homework
Right now, AI is stuck in shortcut purgatory. Students use it to regurgitate passable essays, businesses use it to churn out new layers of spammy marketing, freelancers use it to spit out the same old content with half the actual effort. It’s like giving a legendary weapon to someone who only uses it to chop vegetables. Useful? Sure. Inspiring? About as much as a stapler.
The Alleged “Innovation Stage”
According to the article, the real fun starts when people “find new uses, new ways to create value and new innovations.” That’s the part where the game is supposed to open up into a free-roaming, creativity-fueled sandbox. But here’s the problem – most people never leave shortcut mode. They park there, happily saving five minutes, and never summon the courage (or frankly, the imagination) to do something actually groundbreaking. It’s like buying an open-world RPG and then only using fast travel to get back to the tutorial village.
The Missing Ingredient: Guts
The article ends by telling us it’s our “job” to find the guts to go first. Guts? Absolutely. But also vision, because apparently we’re treating AI like that gym membership we promise we’re going to use “properly” one day. Without vision, all the “guts” in the world just make you the first lemming off the cliff. Innovation isn’t just about bravery – it’s about knowing where the hell you’re going before you start running.
Right now, AI isn’t changing the game – it’s just letting us press the same buttons faster.
Final Diagnosis
The prognosis? We’re still in the early stages of technological adoption with AI, and most of us are using our fancy new tools like we’re terrified of scratching them. Hobbyists opened the door, shortcut-lovers walked in, and the innovators… well, they’re still taking their sweet time. Until we see something that isn’t just “yesterday’s work in less time,” I’m withholding my applause. In gaming terms, we’ve found a glitch to shave seconds off the speedrun, but no one’s discovered the secret level yet.
Verdict: Bad – stuck in shortcut hell with no signs of an escape speedrun.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Article Source: https://seths.blog/2025/08/after-the-shortcuts/
