Making AI Headlines · Page 6
The AI Agent Costume Promises a Party Full of Unpaid Explanations
· New York time
TechCrunch's last-minute Halloween costume suggestions include a cute AI agent icon, a PHP vulnerability and a sleepy-time Bryan Johnson. The list offers a practical lesson in dressing for a technology crowd: the costume may take less time to assemble than it takes to explain. An AI agent icon is especially well suited to a season in which software companies have made tiny symbols stand in for very large promises. A person wearing one can look approachable while guests debate whether the outfit is meant to schedule a meeting, browse a website or quietly ask for more permissions. The PHP vulnerability has a different advantage. It is frightening to the people who recognize it and merely puzzling to everyone else, which is also a reasonable description of many security discussions. The sleep-themed option brings the party back to a familiar technology habit: treating an ordinary human need as a system to be optimized. None of these outfits requires a long walk through a costume store. They do, however, risk producing a long walk through the same explanation at every doorway. The ideal party accessory may be a sign that says the wearer is happy to help, but only after the guest has read the documentation.
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