this post was submitted on 22 May 2025
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On the flipside, "Bot" is the backend for almost everything that I've dealt with recently.
"We need the data moved from X to Y, can someone make a bot for that?"
Internal suffering
"... Yes. We can setup an API between X and Y."
"Great! We also want a bot to generate daily reports from Y"
Suffering intensifies
"... Ok."
I don't even try to fight it anymore.
I had a (non-technical) manager come to me one day and say he wanted us to start using this hot new technology he had just read about called an API. This was in 2010. He showed me the article, which somehow never even attempted to explain what an API actually was. I just laughed and said I would make it an action item.
APIs have been around since like the 90s, right?
The term dates to 1974 (1968 if you accept "Application Program Interface"). The concept is decades older than that. My boss was just a fucking moron.
You folks still say bot? I my company, we say AI.
Um excuse me the preferred term is "AI agent" if you want outside investment
In similar cases I've passive-aggressively intentionally misunderstood and/or acted confused. E.g. "Yes, we can set ut up an API between X and Y, but what exactly do you want the bot to do?" Then let them elaborate until it's clear they're not asking for a bot.