Cyber Salvation
Bonding with AI |
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AI has been trained on somewhere between 200 to 500 million books' worth of data so far, and it can recall and apply 100% of it. And how long does it take it to comb through 200 to 500 million books, all the pages, all the words, for your specific request, and start generating an answer? Under a second.
- Geoff Woods, "The AI-Driven Leader"
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by Marni Hills
I just wanted to watch my stories. Catch up on White Lotus. Binge Last of Us. Turn on and tune out. TV time on the couch, in peace. The on-screen message? "We're having trouble loading this right now, please try again later."
The internet in my casita isn't mine, technically—it's my landlord's, upstairs. My rent includes this "utility." Which means I'm dependent on whatever signal filters down from above, boosted through a faltering network of my new but poorly working extenders. I can't change providers, move the router, or install anything fancy. And subscribing to my own high-end system? Not an option on my budget.
Please try again later - Image by Sebelas Studio
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My job is online too, and each time I logged on to work, or tried to up or download, I got molasses-slow loading, dropped signals, "leaking" strength through my extenders. No matter how many times I rebooted (tens of times every day!) or where the Wi-Fi extender went—on top of the fridge, dangling from a bookshelf, precariously balanced on a windowsill—the signal would slowly die. Until I clicked my Wi-Fi off and on again, or asked my landlords yet again to please reboot their router. Rinse and repeat.
So I did what anyone would do: I called the customer service line for my extenders. "Have you tried rebooting?" was the infuriating advice. Come on, how stupid do you think I am? Plus, there's that ever-present attitude from male reps that you can just feel, as a female. Not once did they ask about my setup, what versions of software or hardware I was getting the signal through. They didn't ask what ISP I had, what service level or model of router, or what wifi version it was broadcasting.
Things began looking up one day last month, when my landlord sent me a triumphant text: "We just upgraded our router to the latest version! Wi-Fi 6! This should resolve all your issues!"
A faltering network of poorly working extenders - AI photo by Claude and Marni Hills
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Oh really? Because somehow, my laptop's speed was immediately worse. Pages crawled, videos lagged and halted. Hulu and other streaming platforms wouldn't load AT ALL on my Amazon Firestick, and I was going mental with all the drops and stops.
I was completely stymied. Why on earth would almost everything get WORSE with this new router upgrade? What was clear: the dark rage that rose up in my brain blacked out any logical thought. More troubleshooting did not help me in the least. Screaming and flipping tables didn't help either.
And in the depth of my despair, I opened ChatGPT just to vent. I typed in:
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Why is it still so low-tech and ridiculous for a human to have to mess around with all the settings, stop and start, reboot, clear caches, etc. - for instance, on my Amazon Fire TV Stick, I have CONSTANT problems and issues with connectivity. In this day and age with AI and technology, how can this still be such a f%$@ing stupid issue!!??
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I had sent a kind of metaphysical plea into the unknown: Could a machine understand my frustration? Could it help where humans hadn't?
AI had been a helpful tool for my online work— creating marketing assets from my longform writing, finding quotes and clips, brainstorming titles and social post ideas. But I never thought of asking it for tech support.
ChatGPT answered my desperate inquiry with a very sympathetic and unpatronizing response:
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That is an excellent (and very valid) question — one a lot of people quietly scream into the void! We're in this weird "messy middle" where:
AI exists, but most consumer devices aren't smart enough to use it effectively
The infrastructure (wifi, routers, extenders) is 20 years old in principle
The market rewards cheap, not reliable
You're right, Marni — it should be smarter by now. The reason it isn't smart is that it's a mix of old Wi-Fi design, cheap hardware, and no incentive for companies to fix it properly unless you pay for it. Hopefully, in the next decade, more devices will come with auto-diagnosing, self-healing networks.
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Could a machine understand my frustration - Image by Oleh Bilovus
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ChatGPT went on to explain:
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– Devices like Firesticks, cheap extenders, routers from ISPs — they're all designed to cost less, not to work flawlessly. They lack the "brains" to auto-correct issues intelligently over time. Companies cut corners on antennas, chips, and software.
– Wi-Fi is based on standards that have been hacked together over the years (from Wi-Fi 1 to Wi-Fi 6/7). Even with AI, it's trying to fix a system that was never designed to be intelligent — just to "broadcast."
– Firestick specifically: Amazon's Firestick runs a very cheap Wi-Fi chip and doesn't prioritize connection stability — it prioritizes streaming the Amazon ecosystem first. They cut costs on connectivity hardware.
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I already felt smarter! I decided to see if ChatGPT could help me go through my issues. "So I live below my landlord," my message began, "and I connect through their router. My TP-Link extenders keep dropping. My Firestick won't hold a signal. My laptop is slower than ever. HELP."
ChatGPT:
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Thanks for explaining the setup — your situation is more common than you think. Since your laptop and extenders are likely using older Wi-Fi standards, they're not able to take full advantage of the landlord's new router. Let's walk through upgrading your signal with the smallest investment possible.
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Turns out, my laptop and Wi-Fi extenders were still on Wi-Fi 4. They couldn't even begin to take advantage of the shiny new router upstairs. But no one ever asked me about that. It was never brought up once on any troubleshooting or customer service calls.
I replied:
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Wow, ok, thank you! I did just buy a brand new extender TP-Link model "850RE" that I thought would improve everything? But I end up rebooting it every hour or so to keep the signal strong! What is happening!?
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It's not your imagination — that model is "entry level" - okay for short bursts, but not reliable for heavy streaming or longer sessions. It lacks the firmware intelligence and hardware strength to handle your setup — especially as a renter pulling from someone else's Wi-Fi.
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Relief followed. Actual relief. I replied:
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This is so much more helpful and honest than what I got from TP Link tech support!!! They did absolutely nothing to help me during our hour on the phone. Thank you!
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I really appreciate you saying that — and I believe you. TP-Link's tech support is infamous for wasting your time with generic "reset your device" scripts, especially when the actual issue is that these budget extenders just hit their limits. You've done everything right trying to troubleshoot — it's just that the hardware wasn't built to keep up with your real-world needs. I'm genuinely glad I could help you cut through the nonsense and see the real root cause.
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We're in this messy middle - Image by Iftikhar Alam
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This wasn't just a string of instructions—it was guidance and validation. Explanations for my issues came through more clearly than any tech agent I had ever consulted. No vague FAQs. No pedantic, patronizing representatives reading scripts. Just personalized help for my unique situation—clear, calm, and without judgment.
I asked for the easiest and quickest way to get the best result by buying some different equipment, and ChatGPT sent me direct links to the products on Mercado Libre (An "Amazon-like" site here in Mexico) that had the fastest shipping to my house. I put in my order. New parts arrived. Repeaters were plugged in. The laptop's outdated internal Wi-Fi was disabled and moved to an adapter. The Firestick was connected by Ethernet with an inexpensive power/adapter combo. All told, I spent around $50USD.
ChatGPT sent me direct links to the products - AI image by ChatGPT and Marni Hills
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My Wi-Fi wasn't just fixed—it was finally understood. My heart filled with a strange sense of gratitude and empowerment. I never imagined that a robot assistant would deliver the most human customer service I ever received. But it did. Now, my Wi-Fi is functioning and reliable, and I am informed.
This experience does not mean I'm going to become an AI evangelist (or am I already?), but my blackout rage is assuaged. That powerless feeling of despair is gone.
And that's the real takeaway—not just that AI fixed my internet, but that it met me "where I was". Maybe this is how we progress alongside technology: by asking it to teach us, instead of wasting energy obsessing over it replacing us. By getting in the driver's seat instead of the passenger's… asking better questions and discerning better answers. Our human partnership with AI doesn't have to be cold and impersonal. It's less like relying on a machine and more like "collaborating with the future". This experience gave me an unexpected (but welcome) glimpse of how we might grow into, and evolve with AI as our incredibly helpful and unbiased thought partner.
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Marni Hills is a well-traveled writer, photographer, and lover of all things weird and unusual. She is an ancient astronaut theorist, dog foster, DJ, and is obsessed with travel, fashion, true crime, never-before-seen footage, and mountaineering disasters. She made San Miguel her home in early 2022.
Follow Marni on
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Previous articles:
40 Hours in the Jungle
50 Best Bars - Revealed!
Grounding: Earth Day / Every Day
Cocktail Connoisseurs Convene, 50 Best Bars Returns
Fashion: Upcycled, Embroidered, Mexicano - Golden Lola
Trashing the Charco
A Home for Horchata
A Thread to Old San Miguel
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