There is a lot to dislike about AI: it eliminates jobs, it uses up energy, kids use it to plagiarize papers, it makes mistakes, it steals other people’s work.
But face it: it’s here to stay. We might as well make use of it. A lot of us resisted switching from typewriters to computers, too. But would we still want to be using white-out, the bottle of stuff used to cover up mistakes?
People who refuse to try Chat GPT and others say their search engine is just as good. Well, surprise: they are starting to use it, too.
Want to know what time the show starts at the local theater on Saturday night? Instead of combing through its website, you ask AI and it comes right up quickly. I asked it a few weeks ago to gauge the reaction to the World Cup Finals half-time show only an hour after the game was over. It came up with numerous details. How did it know? It told me it combed through Facebook and Instagram accounts by people who let anyone read theirs.
I’ll admit that some of it is scary. Having trouble reaching my doctor, I have been asking AI medical questions, and it has done a pretty good job. But it remembers details that I’m not sure I want. “You’re getting old. You probably should not be trying that pill,” it tells me. Or: “With your history of back trouble, you probably shouldn’t do a lot of heavy lifting.” Yes, Mom!
It keeps asking me questions back, and the conversation can go on and on. Well, how am I to argue with something that has access to the combined knowledge built up of all human history?
I’m not keen on AI-written books, however. I had it write my column once and it did a terrible job. But if I trained it with some of my past columns, it might have done better.
Change is hard for people. I’m sure blacksmiths were telling motorists in the early days: “Get a horse!”
If you haven’t tried it, just go to www.chatgpt.com and ask it any question at no cost (for now anyway.)
