The People Do Not Yearn for Automation

Tech executives are baffled by why people hate AI despite its capabilities, but the real problem isn't marketing—it's that the industry is asking regular people to fundamentally change how they live. In this Decoder essay, the author argues that the tech industry suffers from "software brain," a worldview that sees everything as databases to be controlled with code. This framework has worked brilliantly for business automation, but it completely misses why ordinary people reject AI: they don't want their lives flattened into data streams, they don't want constant surveillance, and they certainly don't want to be told their jobs will disappear. The disconnect is stark—polls show Gen Z uses AI the most but has the most negative feelings about it, with only 18% hopeful about the technology. The author explores how this software-brain thinking collides with reality in domains like law and government, where you can't simply issue commands and expect predictable outcomes. The uncomfortable truth: people don't want to be optimized. They want to remain human.