Essay: AI uncertainty shadows every conversation, yet falcons still perch outside
adhamelarabawy · x · 2026-10-28
Engineer/researcher Adham Elarabawy publishes an essay, "Hubris & Rooftops." Nearly every recent conversation, he writes, is shadowed by crushing uncertainty about "The Machine Doing Everything"—friends, tennis coach, parents, Uber drivers, and waiters all bring up exponential AI progress, and TikToks show people treating ChatGPT as a romantic partner.
He refuses to dismiss models as "just another tool": as an engineer, his daily work has metamorphosed in two years, with 90% of his occupation now living in a text box he replenishes with keystrokes. Yet watching a peregrine falcon and murmurations from his San Francisco office window, and noticing how few buildings use their rooftops, he feels deeply humbled—an entry point into reflections on hubris.
Related event: OpenAI Engineer's Essay on Pervasive AI Anxiety(2 posts)→
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