Rick Rosner On, 41: AI Anxiety, Early Cars and Technological Change
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Personal SubStack
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/09/22
Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Rick Rosner compare contemporary fears about artificial intelligence with historical reactions to automobiles. They discuss horses, hazardous roads, early vehicle safety and technological improvement. Rosner reflects on preferring modern life while imagining a future that offers AI’s benefits alongside concerns about human freedom and technological control.
Technology Fears: From AI to “Devil Wagons”
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We have a few topics we want to talk about.
Rick Rosner: Note that AI isn’t the first time we’ve had a freak-out over technology.
Jacobsen: You tweeted about this a bit.
Rosner: Yes, I did. I can mention that a hundred to a hundred and twenty years ago, cars were called devil wagons by some people.
Jacobsen: They sound even cooler.
Rosner: Yes. Manhattan, on an average workday, had enormous numbers of horses on the street. Across America, you had millions of horses on the job. Horses were not initially familiar with cars, and they lost their shit.
Jacobsen: As one would. They were noisy; they looked new and unusual.
Rosner: I’m sure the driving was shitty, with people driving for the first time. People were worried about cars fucking things up.
Early Roads, Vehicle Safety and Continuous Improvement
Jacobsen: A couple of things to add: what was considered a road, what was considered traction, what was considered steering, what was considered a seatbelt, what was considered brakes.
Rosner: There were no seatbelts.
Jacobsen: All of these things, by any modern conception, weren’t even close. The continuous improvement is remarkable.
Rosner: The glass in the windshields, I’m sure it was just regular glass that, if you went through it, you’d be sliced up. Many roads were dirt. Why not have dirt if you’re dealing with horses? Horses walk on the ground. Even paved streets in Manhattan were filled with shit and piss. It was a huge problem. Cars were disruptive.
Living Now and Imagining an AI Future
Jacobsen: Would you rather live then or now?
Rosner: I’d rather live now. I’d rather live 50 years from now, enough into the future that we’ll get some benefit from AI, but not so far into the future that we’re fucking AI slaves.
Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Rick.
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