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Serious question: does "AI" in a product description make you want to buy it more, or less?

herrherrmann 2y ago
Makes me want to buy it less for sure, since the maker is clearly focusing on a feature (set) I don’t want to use or support. In the worst case, the AI stuff cannot be disabled and will annoy me on a daily basis.
lacksconfidence 2y ago
depends on who. For the average HN person? I imagine it's a wash, some yes and some no. For the average person? I think they see it as a benefit. Personally? It annoys me a bit because I assume the AI is being done server side and is used to artificially differentiate products.
bigstrat2003 2y ago
Less. It means that at best there's stuff I'm going to have to waste time disabling, at worst the product will have that crap using resources all the time for no benefit.
Tcepsa 2y ago
Absolutely less. Like, "Will not purchase unless there is no alternative" less.
gekoxyz 2y ago
less. you don't know how happy I was when I read about the new Siri was getting delayed.
jjice 2y ago
I associate it with marketing and privacy invasion, in most cases. I keep griping about this, but I hate that features that we used to just love that were a more traditional ML now have to have "AI" branding slapped over it. The image search on iOS where I can just search "beer" and find a glass of beer I had a month ago is absolutely incredible, but it was early enough to not get hit with the "AI" branding. If that feature, or any other ML features that all smartphones have today, came out now, it'd be labeled "AI". It's a broad term that has now been shoved into everything, even in places where it may technically apply, but feels over the top.
deleted 2y ago
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cfiggers 2y ago
Mostly irrelevant to me. Maybe a tiny bit more *if* that means it comes with more RAM at the base price (as with "Copilot+ PC"s starting with a minimum of 16GB).
Moosdijk 2y ago
Less. If the AI features ran totally locally, it would be a different story but there’s no way I want features to be locked behind having coverage/a subscription etc.
StrLght 2y ago
With Pixel it doesn't really matter to me. I'll install GrapheneOS the minute I get it out of the box. As for other vendors -- definitely less. I just want a decent phone with good software and minimum bloatware. I see all these AI features as bloatware.
rchaud 2y ago
Nobody asked Microsoft to put an unremovable Copilot button next to the cursor in every Office app. Shoving AI into everything has little to do with what customers want, and much to do with checking a box re: org strategy and investor PR.
makeitdouble 2y ago
It guarantees some amount of RAM.
red-iron-pine 2y ago
less. far less in most cases. 1) the phone is already data mining the shit out of me; this is just paying more money for something that's going to destroy my privacy more effectively. 2) AI adds no value to what I need this phone to do: take pictures, calls, text, web browsing, and a few other apps as needed. 3) the utility of AI is still dubious in general -- Copilot and ChatGPT still get enough shit wrong I cannot trust it in a work context, and the code they provides is basic but wonky in weird ways. the utility or marginal utility here is effectively non-existent.

Makes me want to buy it less for sure, since the maker is clearly focusing on a feature (set) I don’t want to use or support. In the worst case, the AI stuff cannot be disabled and will annoy me on a daily basis.

lacksconfidence 2y ago

depends on who. For the average HN person? I imagine it's a wash, some yes and some no. For the average person? I think they see it as a benefit. Personally? It annoys me a bit because I assume the AI is being done server side and is used to artificially differentiate products.

bigstrat2003 2y ago

Less. It means that at best there's stuff I'm going to have to waste time disabling, at worst the product will have that crap using resources all the time for no benefit.

Tcepsa 2y ago

Absolutely less. Like, "Will not purchase unless there is no alternative" less.

gekoxyz 2y ago

less. you don't know how happy I was when I read about the new Siri was getting delayed.

jjice 2y ago

I associate it with marketing and privacy invasion, in most cases. I keep griping about this, but I hate that features that we used to just love that were a more traditional ML now have to have "AI" branding slapped over it. The image search on iOS where I can just search "beer" and find a glass of beer I had a month ago is absolutely incredible, but it was early enough to not get hit with the "AI" branding. If that feature, or any other ML features that all smartphones have today, came out now, it'd be labeled "AI". It's a broad term that has now been shoved into everything, even in places where it may technically apply, but feels over the top.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

cfiggers 2y ago

Mostly irrelevant to me. Maybe a tiny bit more *if* that means it comes with more RAM at the base price (as with "Copilot+ PC"s starting with a minimum of 16GB).

Moosdijk 2y ago

Less. If the AI features ran totally locally, it would be a different story but there’s no way I want features to be locked behind having coverage/a subscription etc.

StrLght 2y ago

With Pixel it doesn't really matter to me. I'll install GrapheneOS the minute I get it out of the box. As for other vendors -- definitely less. I just want a decent phone with good software and minimum bloatware. I see all these AI features as bloatware.

rchaud 2y ago

Nobody asked Microsoft to put an unremovable Copilot button next to the cursor in every Office app. Shoving AI into everything has little to do with what customers want, and much to do with checking a box re: org strategy and investor PR.

makeitdouble 2y ago

It guarantees some amount of RAM.

red-iron-pine 2y ago

less. far less in most cases. 1) the phone is already data mining the shit out of me; this is just paying more money for something that's going to destroy my privacy more effectively. 2) AI adds no value to what I need this phone to do: take pictures, calls, text, web browsing, and a few other apps as needed. 3) the utility of AI is still dubious in general -- Copilot and ChatGPT still get enough shit wrong I cannot trust it in a work context, and the code they provides is basic but wonky in weird ways. the utility or marginal utility here is effectively non-existent.