Steve Wozniak slams AI tools as disappointing, says artificial intelligence lacks human emotion

Steve Wozniak: Current AI Tools Are Unimpressive, Largely Disappointing

It seems safe to assume that Apple co-founder and right-to-repair evangelist Steve Wozniak won't be turning over his day-to-day tasks to an AI agent any time soon. In a recent interview with CNN, he revealed that he doesn't use AI much and when he does, he finds himself "disappointed a lot" by its lack of focus and understanding. Woz was being interviewed about Apple's upcoming 50-year anniversary and was asked for his thoughts on AI. "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," he said. He also suggested the text it produces is "too perfect" and "dry." Ultimately, he wants something more human, he said. Eventually, AI might replace white-collar jobs, Woz conceded, but we're not there yet. "[We don't] 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." Indeed, large language models are often described as advanced autocomplete engines. They can find the next best string in a sequence, but they don't "understand" what they're saying. Even with the latest models, hallucinations are still an issue. Wozniak's comments come as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argued this week that "we've achieved AGI," though his definition may differ from the Apple co-founder's. Other CEOs are also singing AI's praises, though they have bottom lines and shareholders to consider. Wozniak is more free to speak his mind.

'I am not a fan of AI' -- Apple's Steve Wozniak is unimpressed and thinks it can't replace humans

Steve Wozniak doesn't have the highest of opinions regarding AI 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. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

'I am not a fan of AI': Apple's co-founder slams artificial intelligence, saying it lacks human emotional depth

* Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak shared his ideas on artificial intelligence * He says he's 'not a fan' of the likes of ChatGPT and Claude * His comments come as Apple continues to work on AI tools Like other big tech firms, Apple is going all-in with its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts. But if the company's co-founder Steve Wozniak was still involved, things might look very different. In an interview on The Claman Countdown on Fox Business, Wozniak revealed that he is "not a fan" of AI systems for a variety of reasons. That stands in stark contrast to the stance of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has described AI as something that is "so profound and can be so positive." For Wozniak, though, AI has too many flaws for his liking. For instance, Wozniak said he can ask an AI tool what the difference is between two objects and it'll give him a long, detailed answer. But if you ask a human, he noted, you might get treated to a story rather than the bare facts. "I want to know some human being like myself is thinking, knowing what I might feel and understanding emotions," he added. And it's not just the lack of emotional depth that puts Wozniak off AI -- it's also the unreliability. Wozniak lamented that after testing various large language model (LLM) tools, he sometimes struggles to get a straight answer out of an AI. "I want such reliable content every time," he said. "I am not a fan of AI." 'Making ourselves less relevant' Wozniak's comments come at a tough time for Apple's AI efforts. The company seemed to get caught flat-footed by the emergence of ChatGPT in late 2022, and it wasn't until summer 2024 that Apple unveiled its own AI system called Apple Intelligence. Unfortunately, this has hit roadblock after roadblock, and several of the flagship features that the company announced are yet to see the light of day two years later. This isn't the first time that Wozniak has discussed AI. As far back as 2011 he touched on the matter, warning in a speech that "Every time we invent a computer to do something else, it's doing our work for us, making ourselves less relevant." In 2018, though, he was seemingly less concerned, arguing that "Sometimes what we call AI is just the state of the art of what computers can do right now ... If you go back in time, machines have always made humans more powerful." Of course, both of those comments came before the rise of AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. And now that he's experienced tools like that, it certainly seems that he's not much of an admirer. But with Apple continuing to push further with its own AI systems, it seems that Wozniak will remain at odds with the company he co-founded 50 years ago. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.