The only place I knowingly encounter AI is when I Google a question, and I skip the AI answer.

I am most concerned with the job losses it will bring, and then the tremendous amount of electricity it requires.

But maybe I'm just an old fogy, a Luddite of the first water.

If you want to see how many AI programs there are, check out this website: https://theresanaiforthat.com/

To put it succinctly, AI greatly increases efficiency. It can do the job of 10-20 people faster and more accurately. So companies love it. It saves them the money they used to spend on employees. If you are in advertising, for example, you don't have to have copywriters, actors, a studio for filming or any of that stuff. A person with the right AI tool can produce ads at their desk in less than an hour.

Nobody has addressed the issue of how millions of people without jobs are supposed to buy anything. If we had a guaranteed universal basic income then AI might free us from having to work. But I don't see that happening as long as we have a fascist oligarchy in charge.

works today, but likely not tomorrow

They don't track or save.

So, who else is perfect?

I trust DDG far more than google

I use firefox with private brower.
The only two things are Region and time options. Nothing else.

I opened my TOR browser and I see more including what you show.

Interesting. I showed the image page, not the general search page.
The options are different.

I could customize search but I am pretty sure I am using a cookie cleaner, so settings on most sites don't "stick" and I don't bother to chase them down.

I have way too many extensions but most are pretty cool.

I'll share some in Computer Support one of these days.

Biggest lifesaver is GhostText, which I got to work with Firefox, Safari and Opera (desktop only)

It echoes these text boxes with a limited number of text editors (I use Sublime Text for free) and they never forget the text. Great for long submissions. It does reset on "Preview" but that also is free versioning.

I use his debloating tool for win 11 and it works quite well.

Watch and learn though because he is pretty advanced and his tool can remove or disable almost everything in windows…so be cautious..lol

Peace

We all struggle with Windows...

Most IT people would rather use Linux but corporations use windows because that is what has floated to the top for some reason.

Personally, I believe that if Bill Gates had not made a deal back in the 90's during the monopoly trials, Windows would have died. But instead, he learned that you have to pay the piper (grease the politicians) in order to have a monopoly.

So he paid...30 years later, Linux is still better because no one really owns the source code, but windows dominates because of that grease.

(I know they kind of broke it up...but not really...it was all smoke and mirrors once his dad told him that he could either pay the politicians or suffer their wrath)

ROI, quarter after quarter, in perpetuity. It has little to do with planning bucolic car trips or making your blog more appealing. All that is incidental and will eventually be commoditized. They appreciate the support though.

AI now plays an important role in our modern lives, and contrary to the idea that it dumbs people down, AI doesn't diminish our intelligence, just as calculators don't lessen our understanding of mathematics.

Making it so that no one can make a living any more in art, writing, acting, or anything else all the while allowing corporations to make sure that the only media we consume is pro-fascist.

It’s great

of AI giving wrong answers. It is only as good as the script it is given. Especially when AI reads reich-wing media as a source. And AI has no morals.

Speaking of calculators, younger grocery store clerks don't always seem to be able to make change unless the cash register tells them how.

I never spoke to a human being like in the past and it was texting with me the whole experience. But I did get updates on my phone and the tow truck driver arrived promptly.

My friend who I was visiting used DoorDash and the delivery was incorrect she called to report it and it was all AI which kept hanging up on her. After being aggravated she finally got a human being who resolved her problem with her order.

So is Microsoft. It is miserable trying to talk with a human being. The AI just puts you in circles then hangs up on you. I finally figured out what to say on the phone to get help, "trouble with my account". That put me in touch with a real person.

There wasn't a direct line to Uber, it required an app.

Linux is anything that developers (or you) want it to be.
If you can't figure how to turn AI off, some developer will tweak linux to turn it off.

Unfortunately, the entire damn internet is turning into one AI slop-fest, so Stay tuned as

I re-invent the internet.

Like a steady rain on a pile of shit. Let's make it good again.

Du and Hacker News are fine examples of what's best.

Both are heavily moderated, surprise.



coming

I quit a very stripped down version of Widows 98SE for Linux and have never looked back. With Linux I have full control over what gets upgraded and what doesn't. New "features" are not installed automatically. The computer belongs to me, it's not some extension of the Borg.

Unfortunately the fascists are probably going to lock down all new computers and force people to pick their poison: Microsoft, Apple, or Android.

I'm still resisting smart phones, having given up on my quest to avoid cell phones entirely, but my choices are being limited. At the moment I have a dumb old 4G LTE flip phone. I recently got a replacement battery for it so it should be good for a few more years.

I'll be sad if I ever have to buy a car with built-in tracking devices and other "smart" features. My 20+ year old car has a computer that controls the fuel injectors and ignition. That's as smart as it gets.

For now, the "artificial intelligence" features of duckduckgo can be turned off. I'll find another search engine if they become intrusive.

Resistance is possible.

I live in one of 6 states that will use AI for Medicare to determine care. It is the health insurance system of denials as I understand it.

Last edited Thu Dec 11, 2025, 04:50 PM - Edit history (1)

So far, I'm not sure what the point is.