The AI Race: Progress at Any Cost? 

Trina Tutor

March 2026

From my perspective, the current standard of “advancement” seems to be incorporating AI into products and services. Everywhere you look, companies are talking about how AI is making their offerings better. In a way, it reminds me of the Space Race in the 1960s—the United States and the Soviet Union pitted against each other to see who could reach the moon first. 

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That race was driven by something deeply human: the desire to be first. To win. To be seen as the most advanced. But sometimes, that race comes with real costs. 

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The winner of the Space Race earned global recognition as the most powerful and technologically advanced nation on Earth. However, those bragging rights came at a price. The Apollo 1 fire killed three American astronauts. The Soyuz 1 crash killed one Soviet cosmonaut. Did they believe the risk was worth it? Probably. They wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Still, there was a cost. 

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Now let’s circle back to the race of our time: AI. 

For those of us in the parking industry, this moment should feel familiar. We’re seeing the same pressure to adopt new technology quickly—automated systems, AI-driven tools, frictionless experiences—all in the name of progress. 

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So many companies are diving in headfirst—but what are the costs? Some are already visible. Others may be far larger and still unimaginable. Let me pause here to say this: I am not anti-AI. I use it. I find it helpful. But the question remains—what do we lose by using it, or worse, relying on it? 

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Lately, I’ve had several experiences where a device or service I depend on stopped working the way it should. I’ll pick on my email provider as an example. This well-known company launched a “new” version of its product with a modern design, performance improvements, and—of course—an AI assistant. 

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Since switching to the new version, I’ve encountered constant issues. Basic features like link previews and spell check are unreliable or don’t work at all. Which makes me wonder: Was this company in such a rush to release an AI-powered product that quality took a back seat? Did they fully test its functionality? Or was the desire to be first simply too strong? 

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What concerns me most about these current, visible costs is the lack of care for the customer experience. As a customer, it’s frustrating. I don’t want to send an email with a glaring typo or get stuck in a lane trying to enter a parking garage because the provider rushed a half-baked product to market. And when something goes wrong, connecting with an actual human for help is nearly impossible. 

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So, what are the costs of the AI race? 

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We don’t fully know yet. But one cost is already clear, especially for companies layering AI onto existing products: the erosion of customer experience, and with it, customer trust. Customer service is an art. When it’s outsourced, unavailable, or unreliable, the people who suffer are the very ones who made the new product possible in the first place. 

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At TPN, we talk often about the importance of a human touch. Do humans make mistakes? Absolutely. But does that mean machines are better at everything? Not a chance. 

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Before diving headfirst into AI, it’s worth asking a simple question: If we do this, what do we lose? Innovation should move us forward, not leave customers behind. Because progress that sacrifices trust, reliability, and human connection isn’t really progress at all—it’s just movement at any cost.