As the 50th anniversary of Apple (April 1) comes near, it’s not surprising to see major figures from the iconic tech company’s past and present make media appearances.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (who is cleverly nicknamed “Woz”) is one of those personalities, as he recently popped up on FOX Business' “The Claman Countdown” to chat with show host Liz Claman. During this conversation, Woznaik was asked about his thoughts on AI. And to be quite frank, Wozniak isn’t all that fond of the trending technology and referenced his time spent with AI tools to explain why.
Wozniak hasn’t been converted into an AI believer
When asked about his thoughts on AI being relied on more than ever and seemingly replacing humans’ ability to figure things out for themselves, Wozniak had this to say.
“Well, you become dependent on it. I want to know some human being like myself is thinking, knowing what I might feel, and understanding emotions and all that.” He then alluded to his own AI tests, where he asked it questions and looked for data on how it arrived at that answer. Wozniak noted that those same tools aren’t great at answering questions directly and either produce broad or unnecessary information. "I want such reliable content every time. I am not a fan of AI," Wozniak stated.
During his recent media run, Wozniak also made a stop at CNN and was asked if AI would one day replace humans. He made it clear that he hasn’t seen any evidence pointing to that outcome coming to fruition: “I’ve seen no sign yet that we understand well enough how the brain works to get to that point that it replaces the human; has emotions; cares about things; wants to help others; wants to be a good person. “No, I don’t I don’t see any signs of that yet,” he continued. “You can’t say something can’t happen though and with technology.”
The CNN host also inquired about Wozniak’s experience with actually using AI and provided a similar answer to the one he gave to Fox Business. “I don’t use AI much at all, but I’ve asked it a few questions to test it,” Wozniak asserted. “Now I’ll ask a question where one word is the key item, the direction I want to go, and AI will come back with a whole bunch of clear explanations that are on the subject, but not what I really was interested in.”
The responses he’s gotten back from AI have left Wozniak largely unimpressed, as evidenced by his follow-up statement: “I often read things and they just sound too dry and too perfect, and I want something from a human being, and I’m disappointed a lot.”
The takeaway
Wozniak is definitely the sort of tech industry figure people should pay attention to when he speaks his mind on any industry topic (he is the co-founder of one of the most recognizable tech companies in the world, after all). His views echo the same sentiments most AI skeptics feel about chatbots and believers’ opinions about them eventually getting smart enough to replace human effort and ingenuity.
More from Tom’s Guide
- 'This is definitely the next ChatGPT' — why Nvidia's CEO is betting big on OpenClaw
- ‘These tools may help you create assets, but that won’t help you create hits' — Take Two boss says AI can't create games like 'GTA 6'
- 'I think we've achieved AGI' — Nvidia's CEO believes we've finally reached artificial general intelligence
