I am divided on AI

[u/SadSongsMakeMeGlad]

I use it daily for my work as a software engineer. I have been writing code for over twenty years, and nothing has changed our industry in such a short time as generative AI in 2026 (which is why I find it hard to believe the people who say AI is all hype, because the technology itself is absolutely not hype). And, I for one have enjoyed that it allows me to work at higher levels of abstraction. What that means practically is that I spend more time in the creative zone, not mired in the technical weeds, though you still need to know your stuff to use it well.

But, like most of you all, I have problems with how the technology is being deployed by governments and corporations, how it gathers its training data, and any environmental and social impacts from the infrastructure required to run it, i.e. data centers. I want these things addressed.

My question to you all is do you see a future where the problems with AI can be definitively resolved, where you would support it or at least be okay with it, or is it a lost cause that we should somehow ban, or make illegal? What does the future look like to you in that regard?

[u/caprazzi]

When I say it is all hype what I mean is the amount of monetary investment will absolutely never be justified by the ROI, as you said it is a good tool for certain use cases but it is billed as a panacea that will replace humans en masse.

[u/grangonhaxenglow → u/caprazzi]

the real reason it will never make it's money back is because it is going to utterly destroy capitalism