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1525 points saeedesmaili | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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acyou ◴[] No.43654743[source]
That quote is pretty dumb, I see it quoted a lot. It's arrogant, assuming, demeaning, elitist. And I don't think it's true. Who would say "a faster horse"? It doesn't make any sense, because people know/knew that horses are what they are.

A better, more constructive approach is to proactively identify how emerging technology can fit people's needs. And for sure, you need to verify that there is an actual need for what you are building, and then go build it.

Netflix and TikTok are not the "faster horse" here. Generative AI is clearly the "faster horse". It's a disruptive technology that will change the entire structure of society, much like the internal combustion engine. And no one said they wanted that either, that doesn't make people dumb, or user surveys pointless. Who is currently saying they want a "faster computer"?

Henry Ford saying that would probably be like hearing Sam Altman say "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster computer". It's not true, it doesn't match reality.

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1. SirFatty ◴[] No.43654846[source]
You should probably read the article... the author did not say that Netflix and TikTok are the faster horse, the opposite actually. You seem really focused on the quote for some reason.
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2. acyou ◴[] No.43655217[source]
The article says that 2015 Netflix and 2015 Spotify were better, my point is that 2025 Netflix and Spotify are better for the actual customers (the advertisers), but they are not transformatively better in the way that generative AI is.