Meredith Whittaker posted on Twitter that

In addition to being the best in privacy, Signal is also the best in not subjecting you to corny ‘AI’ features no one asked for or wants.

I love the phrase “corny AI.” That’s exactly what a lot of AI features are.

“Would you like help composing that tweet?”

“No than you, I can write tiny text messages by myself.”

AI is the new Clippy.

I’m sure someone will object that these are early days, and AI applications will get better. That’s probably true, but they’re corny today. Inserting gimmicky, annoying technology now on the basis that future versions might be useful is like serving someone unripe fruit.

“This banana is hard and bitter!”

“Yes, but you should enjoy it because it would have been soft and sweet a few days from now.”

Of course not all AI is corny. For example, GPS has become reliable and unobtrusive. But there’s a rush to add AI just so a company can say their product includes AI. If the AI worked really well, the company would brag about how well the software works, not what technology it uses.

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