IT Blog

Kitsch is a German word that, while it usually refers today to cheesy or tacky artwork and decor, originally meant exaggerated sentimentality and melodrama in any realm. The intelligence errors at the heart of the AI worldview—the beliefs, that is, not the science—have given rise to a modern and particularly pernicious form of kitsch. Dreams of superintelligent computers are not Soviet propaganda, and no one is coercing us to believe in the rise of the machines. But they share the basic idea of replacing complex and difficult discussions about individuals and societies with technological stories that, like Soviet culture, rewrite older ideas with dangerously one-dimensional abstractions.

Kitsch is a word whose meaning and use have changed over time. The original German definition in some ways differs from the meaning I intend to explore here, but two essential ingredients of the original meaning should make my claim clear enough. First, kitsch…