{"id":517876,"date":"2026-06-04T07:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/517876\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T07:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:14:12","slug":"how-much-ai-is-too-much-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/517876\/","title":{"rendered":"How much AI is too much? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">How much <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/artificial-intelligence\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/artificial-intelligence\">AI <\/a>is too much? Everyone wants in on it, apparently, lured by the prospect of doing something new and innovative with it. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">But alongside the genuine use cases for the technology \u2013 saving us from drowning under the boredom of repetitive tasks, protecting us from the AI-powered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/cybersecurity\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/cybersecurity\/\">cybersecurity threats<\/a> and allowing companies to save enough money to plough it right back into the technology \u2013 there are the more dubious scenarios. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">AI labels are being slapped on older products to give them a shiny new look. AI has infiltrated our offices, our homes, our healthcare \u2013 even our bathrooms \u2013 with products that have no real need for technology. We have \u2018AI-powered\u2019 toothbrushes and cat translator apps, home appliances that learn from you and apps that will attend virtual meetings on your behalf. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Even eco-friendly shoe company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/04\/30\/failed-shoe-companys-pivot-to-ai-is-for-the-birds\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/04\/30\/failed-shoe-companys-pivot-to-ai-is-for-the-birds\/\">Allbirds recently made the switch to an AI business<\/a>, in a twist that no one would have predicted. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The question is how much of this technology is actually improving society, and how much of it is unnecessary, complicating our lives while quietly gathering huge amounts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/data-privacy\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/data-privacy\/\">data<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">While the business world appears to be gung-ho for AI and all its benefits, consumers are a little more reticent. And the very market that AI needs to capture \u2013 those under 30 \u2013 are finding the technology increasingly frustrating, changing their lives in ways that are less than the utopia they were promised it would bring. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">A report from Gallup published in April found that although around half of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/generation-z\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/generation-z\/\">Gen Z<\/a> users said they used generative AI, almost a third said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/06\/02\/more-harmful-than-helpful-young-people-sour-on-ai\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/06\/02\/more-harmful-than-helpful-young-people-sour-on-ai\/\">the technology made them feel angry<\/a>. Who would blame them? The much-promised benefits of the technology seem to be aimed more at the people making money from it than those trying to hang on to their livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Even getting started seems to be an impossible, AI-filled task; candidates are using AI to fill out applications and employers are using the technology to sift through the prospects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \"> It is a vicious, AI-powered cycle and it feels as if there is no getting away from it. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/06\/01\/anthropic-confidentially-files-for-us-ipo-as-investors-bet-big-on-ai-future\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anthropic confidentially files for US IPO as investors bet big on AI futureOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">To paraphrase an expert on the subject \u2013 in this case, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/anthropic\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/anthropic\/\">Anthropic<\/a>\u2019s chatbot Claude \u2013 AI is not neutral. It is built by humans, trained on our data, and open to every bias, blind spot and commercial interest of those behind it. When we use it blindly, we aren\u2019t removing human judgment from the equation; we are simply making that judgment invisible and unaccountable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">In the end, it all comes back to trust. Can we trust the information that is being served back to us by AI? And can we trust the people who are responsible for designing these systems? <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The recent spat between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/elon-musk\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/elon-musk\">Elon Musk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/openai\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/openai\">OpenAI <\/a>that played out in court gave us an insight into how things work inside some of the biggest tech companies pushing the advancement of the technology. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The billionaire had accused the company and founder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/sam-altman\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/sam-altman\">Sam Altman<\/a> of wrongfully trying to enrich investors and insiders at the nonprofit\u2019s expense, breaching its founding principle of developing AI to benefit humanity. He had taken time out of his busy schedule of posting on X about space, societal issues and reposting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/tommy-robinson\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/tommy-robinson\/\">Tommy Robinson<\/a>\u2019s updates to stand up to a fellow billionaire founder, ostensibly for the good of society. Not to mention taking some time away from building his own AI business, which (apparently) wants to accelerate human scientific discovery and understand the universe. Which I\u2019m sure is a priority, alongside the investigations it is facing into its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/grok\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/grok\/\">Grok<\/a> chatbot\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/01\/26\/european-commission-opens-investigation-into-groks-nudification-feature\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/business\/2026\/01\/26\/european-commission-opens-investigation-into-groks-nudification-feature\/\">nudification controversy<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">In a ruling that surprised no one, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/technology\/big-tech\/2026\/05\/18\/elon-musk-loses-lawsuit-against-openai-in-unanimous-verdict\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/technology\/big-tech\/2026\/05\/18\/elon-musk-loses-lawsuit-against-openai-in-unanimous-verdict\/\">Musk lost the case against OpenAI<\/a>. But not before it dragged a few people through the mud.  Altman was portrayed by former colleagues as an untrustworthy leader, a character assessment that he obviously disputed. Former chief technology executive (and one-time interim CEO) Mira Murati was thrust into the middle of events that led to Altman\u2019s brief removal as head of OpenAI in 2023, and his subsequent return. And then you had Musk, being, well, Musk. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/your-money\/2026\/05\/28\/forget-the-scam-phone-texts-cyber-attacks-are-about-to-move-to-a-whole-new-level\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AI: If you haven\u2019t heard of Claude Mythos Preview and Project Glasswing you soon willOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It wasn\u2019t pretty. And it wouldn\u2019t give most people paying attention to the saga any comfort that AI and the companies behind it should have our full confidence and embrace this technology even more closely into our lives. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">So back to the original question: how much AI is too much? Regulators may make the decision for us. In the UK, the competition regulator recently ruled that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/google\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/google\/\">Google<\/a> must allow publishers the chance to opt out of having their content included in AI summaries. There is also the possibility that European authorities could tighten up copyright rules, raising fears that it may make it harder to train and deploy competitive AI systems in Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Regardless of the source, whoever can answer that question satisfactorily might be able to win over consumers with the one thing that AI has so far been unable to guarantee: our trust. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How much AI is too much? Everyone wants in on it, apparently, lured by the prospect of doing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,6006,289,290,982,11015,18,1647,12650,823,5066,19,17,307,308,82],"class_list":["post-517876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-anthropic","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-cybersecurity","tag-data-privacy","tag-eire","tag-elon-musk","tag-generation-z","tag-google","tag-grok","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-openai","tag-sam-altman","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}