A More Contemplative, Acronym-lite Take on the Internet Of Bugs

My name is Carl Brown. I’m a technologist and a programmer, and have been so since the 1980s. Since 2024, I’ve also had a YouTube channel called “InternetOfBugs” where I’ve talked to tech folks about tech stuff - including, but not limited to, Artificial Intelligence, especially lately.

But I’m not here to talk to, or write for, programmers or technologists, or tech enthusiasts, or even online natives. I’m creating this Substack to break down the things about technology that people need to know in ways non-technical people can understand. Because tech permeates our whole lives now, and if you can’t or don’t understand the impact it is having on the issues you are facing, then you can’t make good decisions about those issues.

I didn’t mean to become a YouTuber. I put up a few quick videos to answer some questions by college students about what I believed the impact ChatGPT and similar ChatBots were having, and would have, on the profession of programming. My first inclination was to write a blog post, but I was told no one of college age would find or read a blog. So YouTube it was.

I expected I’d have as many viewers as there were Computer Science majors at the college where the questions had come from. Now, almost but not quite two years later, my channel has 128 thousand subscribers, 4.7 million views and almost 450 thousand hours of watch time.

It seems there are people who need to watch what I have to say.

But, as we’re told, the medium is the message - and YouTube only reaches certain demographics, and it doesn’t lend itself well to deeper discussions or nuance.

So I’m starting this Substack, here in this medium away from flashy thumbnails, click-baiting titles, and attention-grabbing visuals to resent a low-jargon, less sensationalist side of the issues and viewpoints I discuss on YouTube.

I hope some people will find it useful.

Let’s be careful out there.

-Carl