The Vergecast — "Why people really hate AI"

Date: March 20, 2026
Hosts: David Pierce, Nilay Patel, special guest Allison Johnson

Episode Overview

This week's Vergecast dives deep into why so many people have soured on artificial intelligence (AI), despite years of hype and billions of dollars invested in the space. Hosts David Pierce and Nilay Patel analyze internal struggles at OpenAI, the tech industry's ongoing search for a compelling consumer AI product, why the public's feelings are so negative, and how industry VCs and executives are reacting (and sometimes blaming the media). The conversation touches on poll data, the limits of environmental messaging, the difference between previous tech revolutions and AI, and the blame game that founders and VCs are playing as they struggle to find mainstream success.

The episode also features an entertaining review of the now-defunct Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold, a segment on Nvidia's controversial DLSS5 gaming tech, and a "lightning round" with current news in tech culture, including a satirical takedown of FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. OpenAI’s Existential Crisis and Industry Paralysis (03:28–10:22)

• OpenAI’s Shift in Focus:
  After years of rapid expansion and experimental "side quests," OpenAI leadership (Fidji Simo, CEO of Applications) issued a memo to refocus on enterprise and coding—where real product-market fit exists (03:28).

  • Nilay Patel: “No one has figured out the worthwhile consumer AI business. No one.” (07:54)
  • David Pierce: “ChatGPT has been an enormous success ... but OpenAI is losing money hand over fist every time you use ChatGPT.” (06:56)

• No Money in Consumer AI:
  Despite huge attention and product launches, no company—not even Google—has a consumer AI cash cow to rival past tech booms like web search or smartphones:

  • Nilay Patel: “Now the industry is starting to feel that pressure ... they haven’t made a product people love. And so people are like, ‘No, actually we dislike you.’” (09:54)

2. Why Do People Really Hate AI? (10:22–17:44)

• Negative Public Perceptions:

  • An NBC poll found 57% of Americans think AI’s risks outweigh the rewards; another Pew study found a majority think AI will worsen creativity and relationships. (10:22–12:39)
  • David Pierce: “To the extent people have reflexive feelings about this, it is overwhelmingly bad.” (11:46)

• Contrast to Other Tech Revolutions:

  • The internet and smartphones were adopted rapidly because benefits were obvious and compelling—no one needed convincing (12:39–15:05).
  • Nilay Patel: “The AI industry is staring at these polls that say everyone hates them, and it’s because they are asking for so much ... They haven’t given back a product that makes people feel the way that the Internet made them feel, or the smartphone, or YouTube.” (16:20)

3. VCs and the Blame Game: Consumers, Media, or Founders? (17:44–34:23)

• Media Isn’t the Problem:

  • VC Olivia Moore (Andreessen Horowitz) claims negative perception is a “timing thing” and blames media for highlighting environmental costs of AI. The hosts strongly reject this.
  • Nilay Patel: “Environmental objections do not do shit for the American consumer... you just need a great product.” (21:09)
  • David Pierce: “Behavior suggests we will happily burn the world down if it gets me my clothes in 10 minutes.” (22:52)

• AI Founders' Own Doomerism Backfires

  • The industry’s own apocalyptic rhetoric (UBI, job loss, AI as replacement for creative work) has convinced people to fear AI.
  • David Pierce: “For the longest time, people ... were talking in glorious terms about how terrific it was going to be when AI completely remade the economy. And so now to call that doomerism is just ridiculous.” (26:03)
  • Nilay Patel: “Their own messaging is the problem; they’ve convinced people that all the jobs are going away, and now they’re facing the consequences.” (27:37)

• Fundamental Problem: No Killer Consumer Product

  • Unlike Uber or Instagram for mobile, there’s nothing in AI that makes normal consumer life obviously better.

  • Nilay Patel: “The only way the investment pays off is if you remake the economy with AI ... I’m flabbergasted that they don’t see they haven’t made a great consumer product.” (29:43–30:36)

  • Satya Nadella (Microsoft) at Davos: Warned that AI’s energy/data use isn’t justified without broad, social benefits (30:36).

  • David Pierce: “If these tokens are not improving health outcomes, education, public sector efficiency ... we will quickly lose even the social permission to do this.” (30:36)

Noteworthy Quotes

• Nilay Patel (on the AI industry’s problem):

  “They are asking for so much ... and they have not given back a product that makes people feel the way the Internet made them feel or the smartphone made them feel or YouTube made them feel. It just doesn’t exist yet.” [16:20]

• David Pierce (on public sentiment):

  “To the extent that people have reflexive feelings about this, it is overwhelmingly bad.” [11:46]

• Nilay Patel, on why earlier tech succeeded:

  “The Internet ... was just adopted. You didn’t have to try ... There wasn’t this level of confusion.” [13:40]

4. The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold: The Brief, Weird Life (42:10–68:47)

• Allison Johnson’s Review Saga:

  • Allison (reviewer) went through a “bizarre” journey to get the device, which was sold out quickly, only available through eBay, and arrived suspiciously tampered with and full of strange software (45:27–50:53).

    • “I opened up this FedEx package ... It is a box with two seals that say ‘do not accept if tampered with,’ and it’s very clearly been tampered with ... there were crumbs and little hairs on the screen.” (47:20)

  • Samsung canceled the trifold days after reviewers got their hands on it—evidence that, despite online “influencer” hype, the product wasn’t ready or desired (51:49).

    • “It’s a huge tell when only the influencers and creators get the phone ... you always know. It is a tell every single time because it means the product isn’t good enough and the coverage has to be sanded off” — Nilay Patel (52:54)

• Bigger Problem With Foldables:

  • Western markets may not want them; expensive, heavy, and lacking a compelling use case. Even passionate reviewers struggle to justify their existence.

  • “My parents ... said ‘I want that phone!’ But it’s $2,000. ... If those things could be the same device, maybe? Or maybe, no, that’s $2,000, I’ll stick with these two devices and it’s not ruining my life.” (60:43)

  • Apple may decide the future of the foldable market—if anyone can make it compelling, it’s them. (61:49–64:59)

    • “If [Apple’s foldable] is the same kind of compromise as the iPhone Air ... it’s not worth it to me. ... You will have reduced the primary utility of my phone to give me an iPad, and I don’t use my iPad.” — Nilay Patel (62:16)

5. Lightning Round (68:57–107:29)

– "Brendan Carr is a Dummy" — FCC and First Amendment Satire (72:10–88:40)

• Regular podcast-within-a-podcast skewering FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr for his perceived attacks on speech and the First Amendment, highlighting his recent threats regarding war coverage in the media.
  • “He’s taking this Trump shot at the Wall Street Journal ... and turning it to the place where he does have authority, Broadcast News organization. He doesn’t really even have authority over that.” (78:52)
  • “The chilling effect is super real in the American media right now.” (80:02)
  • Even Republican Senator Ron Johnson criticized Carr’s overreach (83:36).

– Nvidia DLSS5 and the AI “Slop” Backlash (88:49–95:17)

• DLSS5, which upscales game graphics with AI, got slammed for imposing aesthetic judgments (e.g., over-sharpening, “yassifying” characters, erasing artist intent).
  • “The really interesting thing here ... it’s the first time a graphics card is imposing taste on a video game.” — Nilay Patel (92:06)
  • Jensen Huang (Nvidia CEO) responded: "Well, first of all, they're completely wrong…" (93:21)

– Viral AI “Breakthroughs” That Aren’t (95:31–100:25)

• Hosts debunk viral stories: a “fly uploaded to a computer” (which wasn't), and "ChatGPT cured a dog’s cancer" (it didn't; humans used AI as a research aid).
  • “Uploading a fly to a computer is a spectrum.” (98:22)
  • “The vaccine itself was not generated by a chatbot ... At most, the chatbot served as a research assistant.” (99:23)

– Meta Can't Quit the Metaverse (100:52–107:29)

• Meta’s attempt to quietly discontinue its failing VR “Horizon Worlds” Metaverse led to such a bad press cycle, they reversed course to keep the product alive.

  • “Meta is now forced to continue to support this bad product because if they kill it, everyone will think they've given up on the Metaverse and they cannot appear to have given up ... and that is hysterical.” (103:24)

  • Supernatural fitness app's story and antitrust implications: Meta's acquisition killed competition and ultimately shuttered a beloved product, echoing regulatory warnings (104:04–107:09).

Timestamps for Key Segments

• OpenAI’s Memo and the Problem of Consumer AI: 03:28–10:22
• Why People Dislike AI: Social Data & Industry Response: 10:22–17:44
• VCs, Doom Rhetoric, and “Who’s to Blame?”: 17:44–34:23
• Lack of Killer Consumer Product/Comparison With Past Tech: 12:39–30:36
• Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold’s Bizarre Ride and Death: 42:10–68:47
• FCC Threats, First Amendment Satire (Brendan Carr): 72:10–88:40
• Nvidia DLSS5 Backlash: 88:49–95:17
• Debunking Viral AI Claims: 95:31–100:25
• Meta Metaverse U-turn, Supernatural, and Antitrust Lessons: 100:52–107:29

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “No one has figured out the worthwhile consumer AI business. No one.”
  — Nilay Patel (07:54)

• “To the extent that people have reflexive feelings about this, it is overwhelmingly bad.”
  — David Pierce (11:46)

• “You just need a great product. That’s literally it.”
  — Nilay Patel, on why environmental messaging fails (21:34)

• “Their own messaging is the problem ... they’ve convinced people that all of the jobs are going away, and now they’re facing the consequences.”
  — Nilay Patel (27:37)

• On foldables: “My parents ... said ‘I want that phone!’ But it’s $2,000. ... I wonder if there’s a world where they’d be like, okay, I’m willing to spend more on this phone and it’s going to replace the iPad. Or if it just ends up being like, no, that’s $2,000, I’m gonna stick with...devices and it’s not ruining my life.”
  — Allison Johnson (60:43)

Episode Takeaways

• AI Faces a Public Perception Crisis: Decades after the success of the internet and smartphones, AI still struggles to offer a beloved, indispensable consumer product. The narrative that "the media" is to blame is unconvincing; tech leaders’ own messaging, and the lack of transformative, joyful use cases, are the bigger culprits.

• Industry Blame-Shifting is Rampant: VCs and founders blame negative headlines and “doomerism” for AI’s malaise—but polling and history suggest the missing ingredient is simply a compelling, useful, delightful product.

• Foldables and Futurism Have Real Limits: Hyperbolic gadget launches and influencer hype can’t compensate for products that don’t find real, sustained demand. Even Samsung can’t make trifolds stick; Apple’s ambitions may decide that market’s fate.

• "Slop," Spin, and the Backlash: Whether in gaming, viral AI news, or VR, the tech world is repeatedly running up against the reality that not all innovation is welcomed or wanted—and consumers can tell slop from substance.

The Vergecast distills the week’s tech drama not just into news, but larger commentary on where innovation, media, and public trust actually intersect in 2026.