My Burnout: Tech Apocalypse Hunters
My constant source of irritation isn’t a hiss, a squeak, or a noisy neighbor. It’s a collective, annoying, omnipresent state of mind. It’s that high-minded sigh i hear every time someone opens their mouth to talk about technology.
“We’re heading for the abyss, bro! AI is going to bring us to our knees! This is the end as we know it!”
Yes, that’s exactly the point. It’s not some obscure guru in a cave. It’s everywhere. It’s the conference talk, it’s the clickbait YouTube headline, it’s the most-viewed news story. It’s an industry that sells Fear of the Future as a premium product.
And, my God, when i hear a billionaire who sent cars into space say we're headed for Armageddon, i want to scream into my pillow. Elon Musk, the man who sells brain implants, warns us against the excessive power of technology. It's like Dr. Frankenstein coming out of the lab and saying, "Watch out, guys, this creature I made could be dangerous!" Thanks, Captain Obvious. It's so cynical that it's not even ironic anymore; it's a bad black comedy that makes us all laugh out loud.
It makes me jump when i see those thumbnails. The face of the content creator, with an exaggerated expression of horror, next to a pixelated image of a red-eyed robot holding a human skull. The caption: "AI WILL DESTROY US IN 6 MONTHS, HERE'S WHY THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW!"
Click on the clip. The guy, sitting in an expensive gaming chair with three monitors in the background streaming live streams, starts to explain to you in a conspiratorial tone why you should be afraid. Why you should be afraid now. Then, he sells you a VPN to protect yourself from Big Tech, over an affiliate link.
This is my irritation: The apocalypse has become monetized! It's no longer a prophecy, it's vertical content. People are no longer worried; they are Disaster Sellers. They are taking advantage of our existential anxiety, turning every large language model update into material for their conversion rates.
And yes, they are flocking like vultures to a carcass (which is us, humanity) and starting to demand the Enclosure.
Listen, Enclosure is not a technical term; it's a cry for help from those who feel threatened by the fact that they are no longer the only smart ones in the room. It's a pathetic attempt to put handcuffs on an entity that operates at the speed of light.
I'd like to see a conference where, instead of talking about the abyss, they talk about responsibility without unnecessary drama. I want to hear: "We're paying attention to risks, working on robust solutions, not hysterical headlines."
But no. It's more profitable to panic. It's more viral.
It annoys me because it drains my energy. Instead of thinking about how to use these new tools to make life easier or more interesting, i have to waste time emotionally defending myself from the constant onslaught of doomsday prophets.
So, yes. My source of perpetual irritation is the constant, pretentious noise of those who, instead of solving problems, climb onto the highest roof and scream that the sun is setting, even though it's only noon. It really annoys me and i'd like to put the sound of a polished shelf in their headphones at 2:17 AM on repeat. Maybe that way they'd understand what real, everyday irritation means.
