AI is Here to Stay
AI is increasingly integrated into everyday life, from search engines providing answers to improving the functionality of devices like phones and hearing aids.
Have you noticed that Google is now showing you answers when you search for something, instead of showing you links? Google and other search engines have started incorporating AI into their search results. They scan the vast amount of Internet data it stores, and then synthesises responses instead of linking to the sources.
AI is also being incorporated into all kinds of devices to improve functionality, from phones and software to things like hearing aids! For those who have a difficult time participating in conversations because they can’t properly hear the person they are speaking with, the ability to block out the extra sounds (think dinner party or theatre performance) will be a HUGE improvement!
And while it certainly has its benefits, AI is not perfect. It relies on the data that it is given, and that data is provided by humans. We can’t assume that all the answers that we are given are true or correct; they need to be tested.
If you want to try something interesting, go to www.perplexity.ai and ask a question. Then ask another question, and another. You will see that the answers given are very convincing, even if some of them are wrong. This is one way to test, which also involes taking personal responsibility for your own searches.
Another test is to use Google Translate – translate.google.com to translate a phrase from English to another language you or a friend may know. See how close Google comes to getting it right. If you’ve used Google Translate before you may be impressed with how much better it is now than it was 2 or 3 years ago.
A year or so ago there were a lot of news articles about how and if governments should regulate AI. As AI develops there will be people who want to harness its power in the name of greed or power. Others – hopefully most – will use AI for all kinds of good. It will seep into our everyday lives in ways that we may not even notice. We can embrace it, we can fear it, we can hesitantly accept it, and we can try to govern it. But we can’t stop it.
Leave a Comment