That's ok, because you can.

I wrote this down after the phrase appearing as a shower thought one morning. I've been meaning to write about it for a while. I'm not sure I even scratch the surface of this thought let alone doing it justice. This post isn't really about motorcycles so if you've never ridden a motorcycle don't worry. If you have you will hopefully understand exactly what I mean when I say that riding a bike for fun is a completely different way of travelling than a car or other ground based transport. Even with a helmet on (ATGATT!) you're more connected to the outside world, more vulnerable. It takes physical effort to change the direction of the bike. Over low speeds you have to countersteer and ignore what your brain knows, that left is left and right is right. After a while on two wheels your body understands this principle and you are unconsciously competent in turning right but pushing left.

There's a lot of people throwing around phrases like "AI won't replace people. But people who use AI will replace those who don't." and "I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes." After a while of all this AI stuff, I get tired of it, anxious, worried for the future of humanity. You know what though, a bot that talks (sometimes talks nonsense while projecting that it's genuine and true) isn't going to ride the bike. Not properly. Maybe one day it can power the "Mind" that makes two wheels go in a certain direction but it will likely never experience what it's like to ride the bike. Not like you can.

AI doesn't experience visceral feelings. It doesn't really tell right from wrong. It doesn't bring clarity after a long ride out either solo or with friends. It doesn't share a story with you about how you dropped your bike at low speed on a gravel car park. It won't nod understandingly when you talk about a moment on the motorway when you wished you had brought your brown trousers or when you felt something was off with the engine and it turned out that feeling was a mechanical problem.

AI, like a motorcycle, may leave you stranded on the side of a road. Unintentionally or otherwise.

I'm still on the fence about what the current most popular AI models actually do for us as a civilisation. There are applications of AI that are decades old that actually make a difference, catch things that humans can't, provide indicators that things aren't quite right that a real person could miss. Actual, objective good. On the flip side recently there has been a darkness as to how AI has been put to use. An excuse to cut a workforce. Generate untold amounts of revenue for a small number of people. Burn up massive amounts of energy for little actual good. AI doesn't reduce poverty or clean up our environment right now.

LLMs are all the rage. They can be incredibly useful if you know what to do with them. Just like being good at using a search engine used to be a thing. They can be damaging too though. Provide you with incorrect information that you don't pick up on. Be built within a framework that uses dark patterns to keep you engaged and "chatting" but not really getting anything done. I won't get into the insanity that is people befriending AIs. Get a pet rock or a stuffed animal. They'll give you the same levels of genuine emotion.

I don't doubt that AI is here to stay. I don't doubt that it can be harnessed and used for the common good but ultimately I doubt that it will ever know the feeling of riding a motorcycle.