FT journalist: AI's wow factor fades fast once it blends into daily life
On November 11, FT journalist and media scholar Felix Simon posted a series of threads sharing the same observation: on his commute, he dictated notes to an AI agent, which instantly returned a polished, ready-to-use set of bullet points. He admitted that this capability would have stunned him five years ago, yet now feels as mundane as putting on shoes before leaving home—a contrast that made him skeptical of the gap between "transformative AI" promises and lived experience.
Confirmed
- This is Felix Simon's own firsthand everyday experience: dictating notes to an agent on the way to work and receiving organized bullet points back.
- He argues that people widely underestimate how quickly they adapt to breakthrough technologies, coining it the "hedonic treadmill of AI": however dazzling a technology, once it blends into daily life it is quickly taken for granted.
- He draws on the STC concept from STS (science, technology, and society) research—"domestication of technology"—to explain: the moment AI frictionlessly integrates into everyday life, it stops feeling magical, and the baseline for what counts as impressive is constantly reset to zero.
Why it matters
- This observation adds a subjective, experiential dimension of skepticism to the "transformative AI" debate: even when the technology delivers powerful capabilities, users may not feel any "transformation" because of how fast they adapt.
- The "hedonic treadmill" and "domestication of technology" analogies connect everyday AI experience to academic discussions of technology-society relations, suggesting that assessing AI's impact requires distinguishing between capability itself and the shifting baselines of human perception.
2026-11-11 ~ 2026-11-11 · 5 related posts
Primary sources
- Dictating notes to an AI agent feels as mundane as putting on shoes — _FelixSimon_ ·
- The hedonic treadmill of AI: we adapt faster than we think — _FelixSimon_ ·
- Once AI works frictionlessly in daily life, it stops feeling marvelous — _FelixSimon_ ·
- Using an AI agent on his commute makes him doubt 'transformative' AI hype — _FelixSimon_ · 2026-11-11
- [source] Dictating notes to an AI agent feels as mundane as putting on shoes — _FelixSimon_ · 2026-11-11
- [source] The hedonic treadmill of AI: we adapt faster than we think — _FelixSimon_ · 2026-11-11
- [source] Once AI works frictionlessly in daily life, it stops feeling marvelous — _FelixSimon_ · 2026-11-11
- Why AI stops feeling marvelous the moment it actually works — _FelixSimon_ · 2026-11-11