The Opposite Of Intelligence
Customer: “Yesterday, this sign was saying two for one on the apples!”
Me: “Yes, ma’am. That sale ended.”
Customer: “Now it’s saying buy one, get one half price! Why?!”
Me: “Because… the sale ended. This is a new one.”
Customer: “Yesterday’s was better.”
Me: “Yes, I’m sorry, but sales do have to end sometime.”
Customer: “Is that sign A.I.?”
Me: “Is that… what?”
Customer: “The sign. With the sales. It’s A.I., isn’t it?”
Me: “It’s… a chalkboard.”
Customer: “It’s A.I. ruining everything, making it all more expensive!”
At first, I’m thinking she’s upset about money being poured into A.I., affecting the costs of other industries, but then I realize I’m giving her too much credit when I try to sympathize:
Me: “Ma’am, I understand that A.I. can have an effect on pricing, but—”
Customer: “—What are you talking about?! I mean, whoever ended the sale! And wrote that sign! Whoever ended the sale is A.I.!”
Me: “Ma’am, do you know what A.I. is?”
Customer: *Walking away, ranting.* “All I know is it’s terrible! DEI, A.I., it’s all terrible!”
Coworker: *Having overheard.* “Huh. The people have gotten tired of misusing ‘woke’ and ‘DEI’ to label everything they don’t like and have moved on to ‘A.I.'”
