Are we supposed to be impressed by AI? It’s still so dumb

July 17, 2026 — 5:23pm

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I love the stupidity of AI. How can something that is attracting trillions of dollars of investment, bleeding the world of water and electricity, and upending various economies be so dumb?

Oh, I’m sure it can do some things. Apparently it’s good at coding and big data medical research. But so often it shows less ability than the most ill-informed human.

This, of course, is good news for people. It’s like the moment the Daleks from Doctor Who first encountered a set of stairs. Hurrah, said we humans. They can’t defeat us yet.

Those who’ve tried to use AI as a research tool talk about its eagerness to please. It’s like a dog wagging its tail and saying, “whatever you want, boss”. If, by your questioning, you’ve indicated a preference for a particular answer, AI will cheer on your preconceptions.

Personally, I have a preconception that I am a brilliant writer whose books are full of genius. Of course, AI agrees.

The latest AI-powered scam is to send emails to authors whose books are listed on Amazon. Poor old authors! We make hardly any money but we are desperate for attention. And that means we are ripe for scamming.

In my case, I receive two or three emails every week. Each email describes one........

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