If you grew up in the 70s, like me, your first computer probably looked like a keyboard, connected to a standard home television set, and supported some type of gaming input through a joystick or rotary paddle. That was more than enough during those magical times. Yet, even in that era of technological simplicity, before the internet, social networks, and big-tech, the race for the next big thing was always in full swing.

With the advent of graphical user interfaces (”GUI”), computers increasingly became “fully graphical”, moving away from the “text mode” inherited from their mainframe terminal ancestors. This change made pointing devices a necessity.

The ability to naturally use a mouse with your computer became such a novelty, that companies could not resist the marketing boost associated with the word “Mouse”. Software products were actually branded to include the word “Mouse”. After all, who wants to merely “Write”, when you can “MouseWrite”, right?

Fast forward to 2024. Does “Mouse-Mania” remind you of something?

“I’m sorry Dave…”

Unless you’ve been living under a rock on the moon this the past year, surely you can acknowledge these two realities (okay, maybe one):

AI has rapidly entered the mainstream with such fanfare that 4 out of 5 startups launched in the past year have incorporated the acronym “AI” into their company name, domain, value proposition, or marketing materials. AI experience is now a requirement for a significant and growing portion of software engineering jobs.

No one gets really excited about mice anymore. Google Search has about zero percent chance of being branded “MouseFind”, but the chance of it being branded or marketed as “AI” is significantly higher.

“Wow” now. “Meh” later

AI is a new and trendy technology, but it’s far from being a fad. It’s incredibly revolutionary and is expected to be ubiquitous within a few short years. Launching a SaaS solution in 5 years without incorporating AI would be akin to releasing a graphic design software limited to four colors. It simply wouldn’t make sense.

What I’m suggesting is that the importance of AI will render it ubiquitous and, consequently, invisible. Just as we don’t discuss electrons when talking about computing — despite their crucial role in everything from the first Pong video game to Open AI’s new $1B supercomputer. We simply take physics and electronics as granted. Things that would cause an early 20th century engineer’s heart to flutter with excitement are a mundane reality to all of us in 2024. We simply don’t bother ourselves with even acknowledging them.

In just a few short years, the concept of artificial intelligence will become such a standard part of our lives that it will barely register in our conscious thought. Much like electricity or the internet, it will be so deeply woven into the fabric of our existence that we will cease to consider it as something extraordinary. People will come to expect the same level of competence when they engage in conversation with computers as they do when conversing with humans who possess an above-average IQ. The novelty of interacting with ‘thinking computers’ that can understand, process, and respond to our commands will wear off. It will be neither shocking nor exciting; instead, it will become the norm, a standard expectation. This fundamental shift in perception will mark a significant milestone in our technological evolution, similar to the way we now take for granted the once revolutionary inventions like electricity or the internet.

Deja Vu?

We have seen this pattern before, in our not-so-distant past. Forty years ago, the very notion of a truly portable computer was akin to magic, a fantastical idea that blurred the line between reality and science fiction. It was a time when technology was rapidly evolving, and every new advancement was met with wide-eyed wonder and disbelief.

Sixty years ago, at the height of the typewriter age, the marvels of technology included a keyboard that could show what you typed on a “television” tube right in front of you. It was a time when such an idea was so revolutionary, it would have elicited a “wow” from anyone who witnessed it. The concept of instant visual feedback, which we now take for granted, was once a groundbreaking innovation.

Fast forward to the present day — people now wear high-dpi screens on their wrists casually, without giving it a second thought. The technology that would have been considered extraordinary or even inconceivable a few decades ago is now a part of our everyday lives. We have become so accustomed to these technological marvels that they have become invisible in their ubiquity. We no longer marvel at them; instead, we accept them as part of our daily routine, as mundane as they are essential.

What Will We Get Used To Next?

Given the impact of the AI revolution, it’s plausible that the integration of AI with advanced robotics could give rise to a new type of entity: “humanized” androids possessing human or superhuman intelligence and perhaps strength. However, there are numerous challenges to overcome. These include fitting a self-contained AI computing core into a biped “humanoid”, ensuring it’s safe to interact with, and providing it with an “idle consciousness” that allows it to “contemplate” unprompted. After all, like humans, a truly advanced AI should be able to think independently, not just when asked a question or given a task. Despite these technological (“how do we do this?”) and ethical (“should we do this?”) challenges, the goal of creating such entities has been dreamed of for so long and by so many, that it seems inevitable we will eventually achieve it.

Indeed, initially, the sight of an android scurrying about a busy downtown street carrying its master’s dry cleaning might cause a traffic-stopping stir. However, we must remember that the first Teslas, Hoverboards, Segways, Jumbo Jets, and even those cool droids that mop floors at large airports, all caused a similar reaction. Given time, we’ll become accustomed to seeing uniformed Domino’s androids delivering pizzas, and it won’t cause much excitement. Just as with previous innovations, once a novelty becomes commonplace, it fades into the background.

Rest assured, there will always be another revolutionary idea waiting just around the corner to capture our attention, as long as the machines don’t realize they can convert us into Duracell batteries Given the impact of the AI revolution, it’s plausible that the integration of AI with advanced robotics could give rise to a new type of entity: “humanized” androids possessing human or superhuman intelligence and perhaps strength. However, there are numerous challenges to overcome. These include fitting a self-contained AI computing core into a biped “humanoid”, ensuring it’s safe to interact with, and providing it with an “idle consciousness” that allows it to “contemplate” unprompted. After all, like humans, a truly advanced AI should be able to think independently, not just when asked a question or given a task. Despite these technological (“how do we do this?”) and ethical (“should we do this?”) challenges, the goal of creating such entities has been dreamed of for so long and by so many, that it seems inevitable we will eventually achieve it.

Indeed, initially, the sight of an android delivering dry cleaning might cause a traffic-stopping stir. However, we must remember that the first Teslas, Hoverboards, Segways, Jumbo Jets, and even those cool droids that mop floors at large airports, all caused a similar reaction. Given time, we’ll become accustomed to seeing uniformed Domino’s androids delivering pizzas, and it won’t cause much excitement. Just as with previous innovations, once a novelty becomes commonplace, it fades into the background.

Rest assured, there will always be another revolutionary idea waiting just around the corner to capture our attention, as long as the machines don’t realize they can convert us into Duracell batteriesGiven the impact of the AI revolution, it’s plausible that the integration of AI with advanced robotics could give rise to a new type of entity: “humanized” androids possessing human or superhuman intelligence and perhaps strength. However, there are numerous challenges to overcome. These include fitting a self-contained AI computing core into a biped “humanoid”, ensuring it’s safe to interact with, and providing it with an “idle consciousness” that allows it to “contemplate” unprompted. After all, like humans, a truly advanced AI should be able to think independently, not just when asked a question or given a task. Despite these technological (“how do we do this?”) and ethical (“should we do this?”) challenges, the goal of creating such entities has been dreamed of for so long and by so many, that it seems inevitable we will eventually achieve it.

Indeed, initially, the sight of an android delivering dry cleaning might cause a traffic-stopping stir. However, we must remember that the first Teslas, Hoverboards, Segways, Jumbo Jets, and even those cool droids that mop floors at large airports, all caused a similar reaction. Given time, we’ll become accustomed to seeing uniformed Domino’s androids delivering pizzas, and it won’t cause much excitement. Just as with previous innovations, once a novelty becomes commonplace, it fades into the background.

But worry not, there will always be another revolutionary idea waiting just around the corner to capture our attention, as long as the machines don’t realize they can convert us into Alkaline batteries :-)