Why AI is still stuck in its dial-up era

Today’s generative AI has a clunky interface. It’s slow. It can be expensive. And it still isn’t pervasive enough to change everything. What’s not to love?

If you were using computers in even the waning days of the previous century, you remember the routine. With a flurry of touch-tone beeps, your PC dials a phone number. An extended screech follows as it negotiates a connection with the server on the other end of the line. Then—and only then—are the wonders of the online world available to you. And when you hang up, they’re gone.