That asterisk …
So whenever you use some AI chatbot (regardless of the maker), it’s there. That motherfucking asterisk.
Like look:
Quote: “Gemini can make mistakes […] so double-check it.”
I have a question (well multiple ones but let’s start with my biggest one): Why do we accept that?
Say I order groceries from my supermarket. Some fruits, maybe some milk, yoghurt, whatever. Does the supermarket add that kind of asterisk? Do I get a card attached to my order saying “Yeah this might all be super spoiled or even the wrong stuff or laced with poison, better check it”. I don’t know about your supermarket but I haven’t seen that.
Now admittedly I rarely order groceries but still: Why did we come to accept a whole industry releasing products that they all have to affix an asterisk to basically telling us that their product doesn’t work?
No product is flawless, every manufacturer makes mistakes. It happens. Still we never see those asterisks, why? Because if something goes wrong the supplier has to fix things, reimburse you, maybe even pay you some fee. And not only when you sue them.
I don’t drink coffee, but I do very much like a type of caffeinated cocoa with peppermint (I know, it sounds weird, but it’s delicious!). After I ordered my last batch a few days later (I hadn’t opened the package yet) I got an email from the manufacturer that their current batch had some issues (mainly not enough peppermint in there) so they reimbursed me. The powder wasn’t even poisonous, it was just not the thing I paid for. And they fixed it (and added a coupon for my next purchase but that was just good service). This is how we are used to things working: If you release something to the market, you take responsibility that the stuff you are delivering is the stuff you said you would deliver, the stuff your customer paid for.
I find it really weird that – just because AI is magic and all – we allow huge corporations to release something that is so obviously not up to standard that they have to remind you about it with every use. How is that acceptable? Why do we accept that with AI companies and not anywhere else?
If your product needs that big of an asterisk to be put out there maybe you really don’t have a product but a cute demonstrator. That you possibly shouldn’t charge for and that nobody serious should integrate into processes they care about.
