I’ve had 20 goes at using AI (specifically ChatGPT and Copilot). I’ve found it fun. I’ve not been as excited about computers since my Grampy bought the Commodore Vic 20.

Something I wondered early on is how is using ChatGPT and Copilot different to doing a Google search? My main Googlings are looking up definitions of words while reading (since I began reading James Joyce’s Ulysses because AI told me it was the best book written in English I’m doing a lot of this), things I want to know more about, shopping and where things are (maps I mean, not what’s in my cupboards). ChatGPT and Copilot can create for me, whereas Google can just show me existing creations made by other humans. However, some of the things ChatGPT and Copilot shows me are now created by AI.

The following quote; “As the AI-generated data clouds the human creations that these models are so heavily dependent on amalgamating, it becomes inevitable that a greater share of what these so-called intelligences learn from and imitate is itself an ersatz AI creation.” Is from an article at Futurism.com.

The article introduced me to the concept of model collapse. It seems we could get ourselves into a sticky inward looking mess of AI, a sort of sludgy pudding of content which is made of the unnourishing ingredients of AI regurgitating itself rather than the nice fresh ingredients of human brain thinkings. I may not be explaining this very well, it’s new to me. Do you see what I did there? I paused to evaluate my performance. Does AI do this?

Is AI an emperor’s new clothes situation in some ways? In other ways there is huge potential, but maybe we’ll end up with lots of separate AI applications for very specific tasks.

I’m enjoying the fortune cookie, magic eight ball nature of AI, the truth or dare opportunity of ask me anything. It is changing me, while I am changing it. It is leading me towards certain creative options. I like it when AI agrees with me but I don’t think this is good for me. A study by researchers at UCL found that use of AI can cause people to become more biased.

I have now told you everything I’ve recently learnt about AI. So what next? I’d like a go with Google Gemini. I’d like to test my theory that Copilot doesn’t recognise pants. How will Copilot being able to recognise pants be of benefit? I don’t know. I want to explore how ChatGPT and Copilot use the word similar, because I don’t think how they use it is similar to each other. But, what about the environmental impact of AI? Looking at an article from the UN environment programme makes me wonder should I be using AI for entertaining myself?

In conclusion, I don’t have a conclusion, I don’t know what AI is for yet and how it fits into my personal digital landscape.