The Vergecast: Ad-Free Edition Why people really hate AI
Mar 20, 2026
Allison Johnson, a technology reporter known for reviewing consumer devices, recounts her odd Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold experience. She discusses the device’s abrupt cancellation and the strange hurdles reviewers faced. Short takes cover foldable phone tradeoffs, software scaling, and whether large foldables can find a mainstream audience.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
AI Lacks An Obvious Consumer Killer App
- Consumers adopt technologies when value is obvious; AI hasn't delivered an obvious, ubiquitous consumer killer app like the internet or smartphones.
- Nilay contrasts AI's unclear value to Uber/Instagram/iPhone, which delivered immediate, tangible benefits and drove mass adoption.
Earn Social Permission With Tangible Public Benefits
- Gain social permission by delivering measurable public benefits like improved health, education, or public-sector outcomes before asking for more energy and data.
- Nilay and David highlight Satya Nadella's call that AI must prove societal value to justify resource use.
Software Development Is AI's Early Clear Win
- AI shows clearer early value in developer and software tools (coding, Copilot-style products) than in everyday consumer apps.
- David and Nilay highlight software development as a domain where AI already improves productivity and could expand to adjacent industries.