choosing friction

The friction that the political project of AI promises to remove is, by and large, the same friction that authoritarianism promises to remove: other people. You don’t have to build a relationship with other human beings who are just as complex and contradictory as you and who will probably frustrate you in all sorts of ways, maybe by challenging your preconceptions or expecting you to follow through on your commitments.

I’ve seen this piece quoted a lot because it’s that good. Friction is necessary and we live in a world that is trying desperately to get rid of it and make everything efficient and easy even though that’s not what’s best for us as humans.