Wozniak Says “I Am Not a Fan of AI” and Lists 4 Gaps It Cannot Close as Apple Turns 50

GigaNectar Team

Steve Wozniak speaking with attendees at An Evening of Innovation and Celebration hosted by DestechAZ at JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort and Spa, Paradise Valley, Arizona, 2017
Steve Wozniak on AI: The Human Understanding Gap | GigaNectar
AI & Technology · March 23, 2026

Steve Wozniak, who designed Apple’s first computers — the Apple I and Apple II — appeared on both CNN and Fox Business on March 23, 2026, just days before Apple’s 50th anniversary on April 1, 2026. On CNN’s CNN News Central, anchor Brianna Keilar asked Wozniak about the future of AI as Apple approached its golden milestone. On Fox Business, he appeared on The Claman Countdown with Liz Claman. Across both interviews, Wozniak’s position was the same and unmistakable: he is not a fan of AI — not because of fear, but because of how it actually performs when you ask it something real.

Wozniak said he rarely uses AI and tests it only occasionally. Each time, he said, the results miss what he was actually looking for. AI returns broad, on-topic content that sidesteps the specific thing being asked. He also raised concerns about growing dependence on automated systems — something he sees as a risk to how people think and process information on their own. Beyond reliability, his deeper concern is more fundamental: AI has not lived a human life, and without that, he says, it cannot catch the subtle emotional cues that make human communication real. This view fits a consistent pattern. In March 2023, Wozniak signed the Future of Life Institute’s open letter calling for a six-month pause in training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. His position in 2026 is more specific, but the concern remains the same.

For more on the broader technology landscape shaping this conversation, see our coverage of the OpenAI superapp merger in 2026 and the DarkSword iOS exploit putting 221 million devices at risk.

I want to know some human being like myself is thinking, knowing what I might feel, and understanding emotions and all that.
— Steve Wozniak, Apple Co-Founder · Fox Business, March 23, 2026
Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder, speaking at a technology conference
Steve Wozniak — co-founder of Apple, designer of the Apple I and Apple II computers · Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

What the Interviews Covered

Key facts from Wozniak’s March 23, 2026 appearances on CNN and Fox Business

50
Years since Apple was founded on April 1, 1976 — the milestone both interviews marked
9 mo
Wozniak’s joke: the only proven method to build a real brain still “takes nine months”
Live TV appearances in a single day — CNN with Brianna Keilar and Fox Business with Liz Claman
0
Signs seen by Wozniak that AI understands the brain well enough to replicate human thinking

What Bothers Him Most About AI

Each card below covers one specific concern Wozniak raised. Tap or click to flip and read his exact words.

↕ Tap any card to flip

🎯
Reliability
Tap to flip
AI returns broad, on-topic responses that miss the specific thing being asked — every time, not just occasionally.
“I want such reliable content every time. I am not a fan of AI.” — Fox Business, March 2026
🧠
Human Understanding
Tap to flip
AI hasn’t lived a human life. Wozniak argues that without lived experience, it cannot pick up on the small emotional cues that matter in real communication.
“I often read things and they just sound too dry and too perfect, and I want something from a human being.” — CNN, March 2026
⚠️
Dependency Risk
Tap to flip
Growing reliance on AI could change how people process information and solve problems themselves — a concern Wozniak also applied to social media, which he quit entirely.
“You become dependent on it.” — Fox Business, March 2026
❤️
Emotion & Care
Tap to flip
Wozniak has seen no evidence that AI can care about things, want to help others, or want to be a good person — traits he considers fundamental to real intelligence.
“I’ve seen no sign yet that we understand well enough how the brain works to get to that point.” — CNN, March 2026
Steve Wozniak at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, WWDC
Wozniak has held a ceremonial role at Apple since stepping back in 1985 · Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Where Do Today’s Tech Leaders Land?

Drag the slider to see where Wozniak’s position fits relative to other prominent voices on AI. Each zone shows a different point of view, backed by actual statements.

Sceptical Cautious Fully Bullish
Wozniak Zone · Sceptical
Wozniak (0–30): “I am not a fan of AI.” He tests it occasionally, finds it misses the point, and sees no evidence it understands how the brain works. He doesn’t rule out future progress, but says: “I’ve seen no sign yet.” He also quit social media entirely, saying he “didn’t want to get addicted to anything.”

Wozniak on AI — From 2023 to March 2026

His concerns about AI are not new. Here is what he said, and where, across three documented moments.

Mar 2023
Wozniak was among the signatories of the open letter published by the Future of Life Institute, calling for all AI labs to immediately pause for at least six months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. The letter cited risks including AI-generated propaganda, extreme automation of jobs, and loss of societal control. More than 30,000 people eventually signed. Wozniak separately told the BBC and Fox News that AI content “should be clearly labelled” and called for regulation of the sector. He said: “I’m against things which can be used dishonestly.”
Jan 2026
Lehigh University Compelling Perspectives Series · January 29, 2026
Wozniak spoke at Lehigh University’s Compelling Perspectives series on the theme “AI: Innovation, Responsibility and the Future We Shape.” He described AI as a collaborative tool, not a replacement for human thinking, and spoke about the importance of curiosity and human problem-solving skills. This appearance was part of a broader pattern of Wozniak speaking publicly about AI at universities and technology events through 2025 and 2026.
Mar 23, 2026
CNN (Brianna Keilar) + Fox Business (Liz Claman, The Claman Countdown) · Same day, March 23, 2026
Ahead of Apple’s 50th anniversary, Wozniak told CNN he “doesn’t use AI much at all” and is “disappointed a lot.” He joked that the only proven way to build a real brain “takes nine months.” On Fox Business, he said: “I want to know some human being like myself is thinking, knowing what I might feel.” He acknowledged that technology always improves, but added: “I’ve seen no sign yet that we understand well enough how the brain works to get to that point that it replaces the human; has emotions; cares about things; wants to help others; wants to be a good person.”

Key Questions — Answered in His Own Words

Tap any question to expand Wozniak’s verified position, sourced from his CNN and Fox Business interviews on March 23, 2026.

He uses it rarely and only to test it. “I don’t use AI much at all, but I’ve asked it a few questions to test it,” Wozniak told CNN on March 23, 2026. Each time, the system returns answers that are on the general topic but miss the specific thing he was looking for. He described looking for an answer where “one word is the key item, the direction I want to go,” and the AI comes back with “a whole bunch of clear explanations that are on the subject, but not what I really was interested in.”
He does not rule it out entirely, but sees no current evidence. “All things get better,” he said on CNN. But he added: “I’ve seen no sign yet that we understand well enough how the brain works to get to that point that it replaces the human; has emotions; cares about things; wants to help others; wants to be a good person.” He also said AI “hasn’t lived a human life,” which he considers necessary to catch the nuances in how people speak.
He described a consistent pattern: “I’ll ask a question where one word is the key item, the direction I want to go, and AI will come back with a whole bunch of clear explanations that are on the subject, but not what I really was interested in.” The responses often feel “too dry and too perfect” — technically on-topic, but lacking the human nuance he expects. “I often read things and they just sound too dry and too perfect, and I want something from a human being, and I’m disappointed a lot,” he told CNN.
Wozniak warned on Fox Business that growing reliance on automated systems could reshape how people process information and solve problems themselves. “You become dependent on it,” he said. He drew a parallel to his decision to quit social media entirely — he said he “didn’t want to get addicted to anything.” He quit social media “cold turkey,” as confirmed in his CNN interview with Brianna Keilar.
Wozniak designed Apple’s first two products, the Apple I and the Apple II, largely on his own. According to Wozniak’s own biography page at Woz.org, he is listed as the sole inventor on four Apple patents. He also had major influence on the early development of the Macintosh concept. He co-founded Apple Computer Inc. with Steve Jobs in 1976. He left active employment at Apple in 1985, but has retained a ceremonial role at the company ever since. The related iOS security landscape today is covered in our piece on the DarkSword iOS exploit.
Wozniak on AI · What Was Covered

Steve Wozniak’s March 23, 2026 interviews on CNN and Fox Business were covered as part of reflections on Apple’s upcoming 50th anniversary on April 1, 2026. His statements addressed AI’s reliability failures, the absence of genuine human emotional understanding in current systems, the risk of growing dependency, and the lack of evidence that AI can replicate human cognition. Wozniak also discussed his decision to quit social media entirely to avoid dependency. He acknowledged that technology tends to improve over time, but said he has seen no sign yet of the kind of progress that would close the gap between AI output and real human understanding.

His concerns about AI have been documented since at least March 2023, when he signed the Future of Life Institute’s open letter calling for a pause in large language model development. The 2026 interviews added specific detail to that earlier position — focusing on what AI actually does wrong when a real person asks it a real question.

For further reading on the technology topics adjacent to this story, see our coverage of the Apple iPhone Fold expected in late 2026, the Meta Horizon Worlds shutdown, and the Windows 11 sign-in bug and emergency fix.

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