It Begins

From the moment I woke up in my New York apartment on Day 1, I realized that Mr. Wilser was correct to warn me about A.I.’s omnipresence.

Still in bed, I reflexively grabbed my iPhone so that I could hold it in front of my face and unlock the screen. But no. Facial recognition runs on A.I. I typed in my passcode like it was 2017.

What could I do with my phone now that it was open? Not much. No Facebook, no Instagram: Social media feeds are determined by A.I. and littered with A.I.-generated ads. How about a podcast? Nope. Many podcasts use A.I. editing programs to remove the “ums” and awkward silences.

Should I check the news? According to a 2024 Associated Press survey, 70 percent of journalists reported that their organizations used generative A.I. tools for research or other purposes. I would be cut off from current events — which could be a nice bonus.

Checking my email was also a no-no. Gmail uses machine learning to weed out spam. I put my iPhone in a drawer.

In the kitchen, my wife, Julie, flicked on the lights. I flicked them off.

“Are you kidding me?” she asked, patiently.

“The energy grid uses machine learning to predict where the demand will be,” I explained.

I spared her the details — that Con Edison feeds data from more than four million electric meters into a proprietary A.I. program to assess voltage and prevent equipment failure, as a company spokesperson told me.

I told Julie there was no reason to worry, though: I had prepared for this eventuality by purchasing a portable solar-power generator. I plugged a lamp into it and lit up the kitchen with pride.

Brushing my teeth was more of a challenge — at least if I wanted to use water. The New York City reservoir system has a machine-learning tool that takes data from more than 1,600 sensors, which it combines with historic data. Scientists and engineers use those findings to help anticipate demand and make decisions about infrastructure repair.

But I was ready for my self-imposed drought. Like a doomsday prepper, I had been collecting rainwater in a bowl outside my window. I know — a bit ridiculous. But the absurdity helped me see the world with new eyes. I was spotting A.I. everywhere, as if I had an ultraviolet flashlight revealing all the germs we can’t see.