Democracy Dies in Darkness

Apple and Microsoft want you to notice how their AI works. But why?

You just want technology to work without thinking about the gory details

May 28, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. EDT

A collage with a phone and a brain. — (Illustration by Elena Lacey/The Washington Post; iStock)

4 min

Technology has wormed its way into your life partly because you don’t have to think about how it works.

You summon an Uber car, create a digital calendar appointment that family members can see, or order a blender that Target’s website shows is in stock.

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You don’t pay attention to the sophisticated technology that makes this possible — nor should you.

By Shira Ovide

Shira Ovide writes The Washington Post's The Tech Friend, a newsletter about making your technology into a force for good. She has been a technology journalist for more than a decade and wrote a tech newsletter at the New York Times.

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