No Fun

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! I used to always beat the computer at Civilization, every single time, for over two decades. Then I loaded up the newest version this year with no handicap turned on, and the AI just saw moves I couldn't see, and I lost interest in a game I used to love without being able to say exactly why, and that loss is what this episode is actually about: what happens to fun, to gaming, to sports, to music, to driving, to texting, to grocery shopping, once the machine gets better at the game than we are, and what we quietly trade away every time convenience wins over the real thing.