People that lived through 60s-2000s have seen technology explode and change their lives significantly for the better every couple of years. By comparison last 10 years have been especially rough except for solar panels and batteries maybe but it’s China that benefits from this mostly. The article suggests it’s the AI that drains industry from resources but I’d say the problem is deeper. Yes, we’re wasting resources at a fad but there’s also a point where things can’t be commoditised unless people get more wealthy and that has been going pretty bad as well. I don’t want the next iPhone. I want the next microwave or a car that I can afford.

The problem is that the AI branded software doesn’t run easily on old devices, unless you just stream it from one of their server farms. But they’re losing money every time they run one of these services for you, and the vast majority of people aren’t going to pay them a subscription for that.

They’re trying to justify selling new devices with software now, not giving out software that can run on old devices. You gotta replace your 2017 laptop to run windows 11. Gotta get a new computer with an NPU to run AI models locally. But it’s happening again, users are not embracing these new AI features, let alone buying new devices just so they can use them.

Much like wearables and VR headsets, the interest for these things is largely limited to enthusiasts spaces and isn’t translating to mass adoption. The average person doesn’t care about having their computer writing their email in to a limerick, they just want their email client to not freeze up and crash because they got an email with a weirdly formatted picture.