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Friction and Not Being Touched

The journalist Karen Hao – who published an absolutely fantastic book about OpenAI called “Empire of AI” recently – coined (as far as I know) one of the best terms for describing modern “AI” systems: Everything Machines. “AI” systems are not framed as specific tools that solve specific problems in specific ways but just as […]

The idea of frictionlessness has very narcissistic, “ player character ” vibes: You don’t experience friction if the whole world is build around you and your needs. While the term gained traction during the start of the COVID-19 epidemic when social distancing rules enforced that kind of disconnect the seed for all that was planted way before: The economic situation forces more and more people to work longer and longer hours leaving less time for activities with others (think sports clubs or whatever), activities that also keep increasing in cost. Digital communication has for a long time been a way for people with a small social circle to feel connected to someone, many do have large parts of what they call friends on reddit, Discord or wherever.

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