Why Bother With AI

Technology has a way of creating things that we don’t feel we need but suddenly can’t do without. It also has a way of moving ahead at a speed that we’re often not comfortable with. Technological advances happen whether we like them or not.  As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more and more intertwined with everyday life, why bother to learn about it when everything worked just fine before it arrived, I hear you say?  But, our choice is not whether to acknowledge its existence (it will exist without our permission) but whether to keep up or be left behind. 

Old School 

In university, I remember typing all my essays and using those little, powdery correction papers to fix my multiple spelling errors. I wrote my outline by hand. I even scribbled a rough draft in pencil because once I started typing there was no ability to rearrange sentences, insert a new idea, or add a better turn of phrase.  Re-typing a page was unacceptable to me when the deadline loomed.  I needed to get to the copy place when it opened to photocopy my essay before physically handing it in at the professor’s office the next morning before class. 

Tech Advances Mean Adapting To Change

The price of embracing new technology is the struggle to learn something baffling and the cost of the purchasing all the necessary equipment.*  Our first desktop computer and dot matrix printer were expensive and difficult to adapt to. There was lots to learn, many mistakes to make and a tonne of frustration each time we used them. There was the worry that we would screw it up or lose everything we were working on. The stress of constantly saving report card data on floppy disks, only to take it into school at the deadline to discover that the disk was empty, or couldn’t be opened, still makes me sweat.  Adapting to technology has always been an emotionally wrought experience for many of us.

Tremendous Benefits

In hindsight, the reward of stepping into the computer age has vastly outweighed the pain. It allows me to do so much more than that old electric typewriter could ever do! For instance, it’s exciting to be able to create, research, edit, illustrate, and publish a blog by myself with the help of my trusty laptop.  To be able to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world without paying for a long distance phone call or waiting for a letter to arrive is a marvel I wouldn’t want to give up. It’s something 1980’s me would never have imagined possible!  With the advent of AI, we are at the start of another huge shift that will change the world in ways we haven’t seen before.  That’s exciting and scary!

The World Will Change

The price of refusing to engage with new technology means that life gets harder for us. I see folks who didn’t get onboard with smart phones or other devices, struggle to communicate with their family and friends on messaging apps, and miss out on seeing photos of weddings posted to social media.  They can’t find phone numbers without a phone book that doesn’t exist anymore, or pay for a coffee at a store that doesn’t accept cash. They can’t download an app to pay for a parking spot, or check the weather without turning on TV. The world doesn’t work the way it used to and to continue to live as if it did, is increasingly difficult.  The same is happening for those of us who don’t learn about AI.

Ride The New Emotional Wave

Instead of sitting back and letting the information about how AI works and how people are using it pass me by, I’m trying to stay engaged. Not unlike earlier tech advances, the experience is at once baffling and exhausting. But the reward for learning is that I am becoming aware. I realize others are using AI to write reports, presentations, letters, websites etc. It’s still early days with AI and when an email was generated by a bot and not the person who sent it, it sounds robotic and formulaic. I notice when folks have written their own text because it has their unique tone and style and a few grammar or spelling errors (affect/effect?).  It’s the difference between a factory made sweater and one knit by hand.  

At the moment, most people don’t take the time to train AI to learn their unique way of communicating. But companies and individuals are quickly learning how to improve the quality of the material that AI generates for them. When they do, I’ve learned that it’s almost impossible to see the difference. It’s that good. 

Living With AI

I’ve been attending webinars, and listening to podcasts to learn how to use AI effectively, not because I will use it all the time, but because I want to see how others use it. I want to be aware. I want to know how to use it effectively and safely. I’m learning how to train it and then I’m practicing those skills. There are situations where it will come in handy to make my life easier. 

At the same time, I’m committing to continuing to do my own creative writing on this blog. One of the dangers of AI is that we will forget how to do the things that it does for us.  (We once knew our friends and family’s phone numbers before the advent of the smart phone.) There are some skills that I’ve built over the years that I will not relinquish to AI. I’m making the choice not to be left behind.  That’s why I bother with AI.

Are you embracing AI? Comment below with your thoughts on the matter.

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*I want to acknowledge that there is a huge cost in energy (electricity) when we embrace new AI technology. That’s an issue for another blog another day.