AI Strikes Again!

© jb katke

How do you feel about Artificial Intelligence? It has been around for sixty years, but that does not mean you have to like it. The average person did not acknowledge it much back in the day. It was too close to wishful thinking—I am sure that is how it all began. I recall the sixties television show The Jetson’s with their robot maid Rosie. Little did I realize how technology would continue to grow to where it is today.

It may have begun innocently, but as you know it progressed through the years. I was using it before I realized what exactly it was…and appreciated it at the time. When texting on my cell phone, often I began spelling a word, and before I was finished, it popped up.

This time though, AI went too far.

Recently, I was invited to interview a neighbor for our community newsletter. I agreed with a little apprehension, I had never interviewed anyone before. When I sat down with—I will call her Diane.  (I know her name and it is not Diane!) But as we visited she was very easy to talk with and open to answering questions that I thought would be relevant to the article.

I was both surprised and relieved at how well it went—this opportunity came at a good time. There was a chance I would have nothing to offer for  the newsletter this month, I had run out of ideas to write about. The down side is I submitted the manuscript without making sure all was correct. It automatically changed her name without my noticing it!

Now everyone will start calling her by the wrong name! Needless to say, AI and I are no longer friends. No matter how convenient it is. At least I have my submission ready for next month’s newsletter—‘Correction from last month.’

OMG-She’s Alive!

© jb katke

Her lights flashed to get our attention.

Dave: “Alexa, do you have a notification?”

Alexa: “One new notification from Alexa News from Fox News. ___________. Do you want to hear more?”

Dave: “No.”

Me: “I wonder why she does that? She says it is from both Alexa News and Fox News too.”

Alexa: “I’m sorry, I don’t have an answer to that.”

Yikes—she heard me and responded!

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has been a regular topic in the news of late. It started out as convenience, but has quickly become a concern.

We have been using it—perhaps without realizing it. Have you texted someone recently and found the word you were starting to write pop up? That is AI. Or maybe while scrolling through the internet gathering info on a potential purchase—suddenly all these ads come at you without your prompting? AI is at work. I heard of a couple talking face to face, in front of their phones apparently, and ads starting streaming in to relate to their conversation.

Can it go too far? Technology knows so much these days that it can be frightening.

This has been a talking point in the writers meetings I have attended. It seems there are websites available that will help an author produce an online book using their own voice.

As tempting as that may sound, I suspect there may be drawbacks.

TV commercials speak of multiple mortgages being made on your home without your knowledge. Snail mail enters your mailbox of a security breach at your bank. While it may or may not be AI, it definitely is technology. It is only a matter of time and your voice may be ‘kidnaped’ and used against you in some way.

Yes, in my world, that is going too far—and we all should proceed with caution.

But consider this:

There is one who does more that hear what we say—he reads hearts. He knows our thoughts and desires. Not Santa Claus, but Jesus. The Good Book documents such happenings in Mark 2:6-8 and Luke 9:46, to name a couple instances.

Words should be used wisely—and beware of what enters our heart. He knows. Jesus understands what we want—and like a good father provides for our needs. There is a difference, and can explain why some of our desires go unfulfilled. It takes faith and trust to comprehend what the fifties television show indicates, Father Knows Best.

https://blogreedsy.com/guide/audiobooks/ai-narration