Beyond using it to freak out over potential medical diagnoses (if you’re under 35, don’t worry – you’ll understand soon enough), AI hasn’t figured much in my day-to-day life.
Despite being in a profession that involves looking at new technology and saying “Ooh, shiny!” in 2,000 words or less, I’d describe my general outlook on AI as being overwhelmingly negative.
My attitude is composed of a complex mixture of emotions: distaste at AI’s effect on the creative industries; concern at its potential to devastate the job market for ordinary folk like me; suspicion at the motives of its ringleaders (looking at you, Mr. Altman); and flat-out fear at the whole thing going Skynet on humanity.
It would be an exaggeration to say that this cynical outlook has changed within the past week, but it’s certainly shifted a tad.
A slippery slope
It all started on a recent holiday to Spain, during which I didn’t only want to know how to say something, but how to enunciate it properly without having to play an embarrassing YouTube video in public. Sure enough, Gemini turned up a phonetic spelling of how to ask to take a delicious pastry away with me (pah-rah yeh-bahr), rather than eating it on the premises.
Then, on my return to work, I needed to confirm whether I had posted a review phone back to the manufacturer earlier in the year. Usually this would be an invitation to descend into email search hell for the morning, fruitlessly typing variations on a simple phrase into MacOS’s default email app. Perhaps due to a certain lingering holiday lethargy, I opted to try something different.
Heading into the Gemini section of the Gmail web app, I quickly tapped in: “Is there any indication that I’ve sent the [REDACTED] back?” Within seconds, Gemini had told me there was no indication that I had, before helpfully pointing out (with quotation) that the PR had said I could hold onto it a little longer for a planned feature.
Less than an hour later, Gemini was at it again, informing me that Motorola hadn’t released a tablet in the UK or US for the best part of 15 years. Naturally, being the cynic professional that I am, I double-checked that fact the old-fashioned way. It was right on the money.
None of this will be surprising to all of you AI converts out there. My use of the technology will doubtless seem quaint and limited to some, and I have no intention of deepening my AI reliance at this point.
But I fear that I’m now on the slippery slope to some form of wider AI acceptance. This stuff really works. Who knew?