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Magic, Mundanity and Deep Protocolization

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In some commentary on the Apple VisionPro, a few people have noted an interesting point: While the device clearly uses a lot of sophisticated AI, nowhere in the messaging around the new gadget is the term AI used. This seems generally true of Apple products. They use AI but never talk about their products in AI terms. This strikes me as more than a sound (and very Apple) design and marketing approach. It reflects a sound understanding of the nature of AI — as an uncredited and formless modifier of other technologies. One whose presence is marked by familiar behaviors having slightly magical effects. You click as usual, but the responses are subtly, magically, enhanced. You take a photograph, and it looks like it was taken by a professional rather than the sloppy amateur you are. In the case of Apple, the power of AI is often cashed out via anticipatory user experiences. Matt Webb called this “computers that live two seconds in the future.” Like the Sirus Cybernetics elevators in Hitchh

This essay is part of the Mediocre Computing series In some commentary on the Apple VisionPro, a few people have noted an interesting point: While the device clearly uses a lot of sophisticated AI, nowhere in the messaging around the new gadget is the term AI used. This seems generally true of Apple products. They use AI but never talk about their products in AI terms. This strikes me as more than a sound (and very Apple) design and marketing approach. It reflects a sound understanding of the nature of AI — as an uncredited and formless modifier of other technologies. One whose presence is…

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