A Weird Parallelism

The Running and AI metaphor

Just a quick thought. I’ve come to realize that most of us are way deep into some kind of tech that we don’t question enough.

Take running as an example:
When preparing to set a new personal record in a marathon, a 10K, or just to be fit, the first thing that often comes to mind is which running shoes to buy. Most likely you’ll hunt for the latest cushioning / reaction technology, from carbon soles to the lightest, fastest shoes available. But in doing so, you may completely overlook what really matters: your body, your technique, your strength, and your core.

Of course, you’ll follow a training system like the low-intensity Norwegian method or Zone 2 training, not only because it’s effective and based on the latest research, but because your algorithm won’t let you skip it.

Big brands invest so much effort in refining running shoes with “advanced technology” (questionable) to prevent injury or reduce its risk and still half the people that undertake this sport gets injured. The real focus should be on strengthening our natural shock absorbers (our calves and tendons), the running form and building stronger foot muscles. We don’t question why the mainstream brands keep on updating their shoes without a successful outcome, which should be happy people running. The answer is obvious though, updating the cushion is the business.

This same pattern is emerging with AI.

We are deeply invested in developing, selling, and adopting this technology without questioning if we truly need it all the time, in every car, desk, lamp, shoe, bed, watch, coffee machine… for God’s sake!… Will it really make the world (and humanity) better? Undoubtedly, AI can accelerate stagnated fields such as cancer research, that’s the great part, but do we really need assistants for everything? At what cost?

The power consumption and resource demands of AI data centers are enormous. Are we pursuing the best path forward, or could we continue engaging in more analog, human tasks that preserve our cognition rather than degrade it?

This is not just about ecological sustainability; it’s about economic and financial sustainability too. As we potentially approach a new economic depression, we seem to be fueling the biggest bubble since the dot-com era: the AI bubble.

We are going all-in on technology, the digital stuff, screens for everything, much like the obsession with refining running shoe technology instead of simply running barefoot or minimally (naturally) and investing in our bodies and techniques. Why can’t we just keep on hand writing, reading on paper, using a mechanical clock to wake up, listen to a vinyl record?

While it’s a strange parallel, I believe it clearly illustrates where we stand today... pardon my weird “runners-high” thoughts!