Peanuts In My Pocket

I do not spend a lot of time on Facebook. I check in to see what my family and friends are up to. I rarely comment, but I like almost everything I see. I post in spurts, usually when I have a story to tell, but other than that, I spend about 10 minutes per visit. Well… I used to spend 10 minutes per visit, but then Facebook offered Meta AI. I resisted pressing the prompts for more information until the Olympics started. Now, I press the big blue “O” below a post to find out more about the sport, the athlete, or some tangential piece of trivia. It’s almost like it’s designed to capture my attention.

Ten minutes has grown to twenty and is now heading towards thirty. I’m spending less time on family and friends as well. What the heck is happening? Just today, I went down the rabbit hole on a Georgia O’Keeffe painting called _Black Mesa Landscape_. Twenty minutes later, I now have a strong desire to order an expensive art book featuring her landscapes. If only Meta AI could offer me a choice of books and perhaps a purchase option. Wait… that’s coming. I know it just like I know today is Tuesday. I should not offer any more ideas.

I can also see a time when Meta AI will offer information on my friends and family. I have a niece on vacation in Mexico; I can see it offering info on the location and other vacationing offers, but it might also offer information about how many times my niece or other people I know have visited that location. Perhaps even offering photos, links to posts, or what her favorite activities were. It’s all there. We tell Facebook so much already.

I like thinking about possibilities, but I’ve read too much science fiction to assume benign intent. I asked about a famous restaurant recently; now Google and Facebook do nothing but present me with ads trying to entice me to visit. The conversation was verbal… something was listening. Now with AI, I can see that what I follow up on will end up showing up as an ad if they can figure out how to monetize it. At the very least, I’m sure that Facebook sold the fact that I like Olympic Rugby to somebody.

I don’t fear the future as much as I approach it like testing the water of a mountain river with my toe instead of jumping right in. AI will make many things more fun and interesting, but I can see it making us miserable as well. Meta, if you are interested, I ate at that restaurant already. There is no need to entice me back.