Submitted 3 weeks ago by 7uWqKj@lemmy.world to showerthoughts@lemmy.world
When hammers were invented, people were like, “Cool! So much easier and faster than screwing! And even cheaper!”
And they threw away their screwdrivers and happily hammered their screws in, telling each other how much better things had become.
This is a story about AI.
I feel like hammers+nails would have been invented way before screws and screw drivers …
Just a few millennia.
If you’re at the WTF stages from reading this, you should know that this saying applies: If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.
The author appears to be attempting to draw a parallel with AI, but it seems somewhat lost in translation.
Mind you, AI, or as I like to call it, Assumed Intelligence, is prone to uttering perfectly sounding gibberish which in the industry is known as Hallucinations.
Yet another thing already perfected by humans. It’s called “drunk monologuing.”
Thinking about hammering in a screw puts a very serious frown on my face…
Upvote for creativity though.
Ironically I had to use AI to figure out what this is supposed to mean.
Here’s the intended meaning:
The author is critiquing the misapplication of AI—specifically, the way people adopt a flashy new tool (AI, in this case) and start using it for everything, even when it’s not the right tool for the job.
Hammers vs. screwdrivers: A hammer is great for nails, but terrible for screws. If people start hammering screws just because hammers are faster and cheaper, they’re clearly missing the point of why screws exist and what screwdrivers are for.
Applied to AI: People are now using large language models (like ChatGPT) or generative AI for tasks they were never meant to do—data analysis, logical reasoning, legal interpretation, even mission-critical decision-making—just because it’s easy, fast, and feels impressive.
So the post is a cautionary parable: just because a tool is powerful or trendy (like generative AI), doesn’t mean it’s suited to every task. And blindly replacing well-understood, purpose-built tools (like rule-based systems, structured code, or human experts) with something flashy but poorly matched is a mistake.
It’s not anti-AI—it’s anti-overuse or misuse of AI. And the tone suggests the writer thinks that’s already happening.
“… I had to use AI to figure out what this is supposed to mean.” I can only hope you really mean “I CHOSE to IRONICALLY use AI to figure out what this is supposed to mean.”
You’re not hoping anything, you’re just trying to look clever by pretending to be worried about phrasing no one actually misunderstood.
Concern trolling / weaponized empathy - Pretending to care as a disguise for judgment or hostility.
Thanks. The fact that an AI understood it but a good lot of humans didn’t is somewhat concerning. 🤦
For the author? Yes. It shows a level of incoherence.
Did you use AI to make this slop?
Why are so many people literally terrified about a computer that can write a paragraph for you? AI has been around for literal decades.
janonymous@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What? Ignoring that screwdrivers where invented after the hammer, what exactly should this tell me about AI?
Mothra@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
Maybe this is a story about AI and how it hallucinates.
antbricks@lemmy.today 3 weeks ago
Someone also posted an AI-generated summary for audience members whose reading comprehension skills have already atrophied.
Good luck, humanity.
30p87@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Throwing away effective tools and replace them with generic LLMs, because of hype. Eg. throwing away physical customer support and replacing people with a chatbot.
Not using (online) dictionaries but asking an LLM for every word.
Using LLMs to parse static stuff (eg. parse json and extract vars). Yes, some people do that.
wewbull@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
That it has shitty shower thoughts.