Editorial illustration for The Download: AI’s Popularity Paradox and EmTech Future 2026
Why People Use AI Tech They Actually Hate
The Download: AI’s Popularity Paradox and EmTech Future 2026
Will Douglas Heaven has a theory about why people keep using a technology they claim to despise, and it started with a conversation he had over the summer with the CEO of Springboards, a startup building a large language model meant to generate a wide range of responses. The CEO's line stuck with him: "We often say that we're a self-loathing AI company. We don't know if we really like what we're doing."
That tension shows up everywhere right now. Surveys keep finding that more people expect AI to do harm than good, yet adoption numbers keep climbing regardless. Heaven calls it AI's popularity paradox in today's Download, MIT Technology Review's weekday newsletter on tech news.
He's not exempt from the contradiction himself, joking that the Springboards comment made him a self-loathing AI journalist, before admitting he actually loves his job. What he doesn't love is what the technology has turned into: hyped past reason, pushed by true believers, and somehow everywhere at once.
Today's edition also covers Trump's new "Super Intelligence Force" for overseeing AI, and a recap of EmTech Future 2026, where the conversation turned to what happens when AI meets everything else.
Public sentiment is souring fast, with more people saying AI will have a negative impact than a positive one. At the same time, AI use is skyrocketing.
Why this matters
The contradiction Heaven points to, people saying they hate AI while using it constantly, is the thing builders and researchers need to sit with rather than explain away. It's tempting to read heavy usage as quiet approval, but the summer conversation with Springboards' CEO suggests something messier: people want variety and novelty from these tools even as they distrust them. That gap between stated opinion and actual behavior should worry anyone shipping AI products, because it means satisfaction metrics and adoption numbers are measuring something other than trust.
Meanwhile Trump's "Super Intelligence Force" and the 22-nation push for a global oversight body are both bets that governance can catch up to deployment. For founders, that's a signal that regulatory attention is coming regardless of whether the underlying tech earns public confidence first. The practical takeaway: don't mistake usage for endorsement, and don't assume oversight bodies will wait for public opinion to settle before they act.
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Common Questions Answered
What is the AI popularity paradox that Will Douglas Heaven describes in this article?
The AI popularity paradox refers to the contradiction where public sentiment toward AI is becoming increasingly negative, with more people expecting AI to have negative impacts, yet AI usage continues to skyrocket simultaneously. This tension suggests that people are using AI tools extensively while simultaneously expressing distrust and dislike for the technology, creating a disconnect between stated opinions and actual behavior.
Why does the Springboards CEO describe their company as a 'self-loathing AI company'?
The Springboards CEO's self-loathing description reflects the internal conflict many AI builders experience about their work, expressing uncertainty about whether they genuinely support what they're creating. This sentiment captures the broader tension in the AI industry where developers and companies are building tools that people use constantly despite widespread public skepticism about their value and impact.
What does the gap between stated AI opinions and actual AI usage behavior mean for AI product developers?
The gap between what people say about AI and how much they actually use it should concern AI product developers because it suggests people want novelty and variety from these tools even while distrusting them. Rather than interpreting heavy usage as approval, developers need to recognize this messier reality and understand that users may be adopting AI for practical reasons while maintaining skepticism about its broader implications.
According to the article, why do people continue using AI technology despite claiming to despise it?
The article suggests that people use AI tools because they want variety and novelty from these technologies, even though they distrust them and expect negative impacts. This indicates that practical utility and the appeal of new capabilities can drive adoption regardless of negative public sentiment or personal reservations about AI's overall effects.
Further Reading
- EmTech Future 2026: When AI Meets Everything - MIT Technology Review
- AI is just another technology Americans don't like but can't stop using - The Washington Post
- Americans are Concerned by AI, But Still Use It - Navigator Research
- AI Use Is Exploding. So Why Are You Still Annoyed by It? - Software Informer
- MIT Technology Review unveils the full agenda for EmTech Future 2026 - PR Newswire
