Close encounters with AI
To be honest I feel quite ambivalent about AI and largely avoid its use, where I can. I try to ignore the AI information presented within search engines and I don't usually use it to create anything etc etc. I'm worried about copyright issues for instance, and how it's already replacing garden writers who have extensive knowledge gained over many years of experience. Articles can be generated quickly, often with dubious content which is often published without fact checking first. I'm reminded of a central tenet from my time in IT; Garbage In, Garbage Out (aka GIGO), right?
However NAH recently benefitted from AI technology when a surgeon assisted by a robot using CT scan data peered deep into his lung and determined the small lump there is benign, thus avoiding him losing around a third of his lung. The latter operation was the preferred approach until the robot technique was developed and often the removed material revealed a benign lump rather than a tumour. We're quite relieved he didn't have to go through all of that! I'm also sure my quick result obtained from my breast cancer screening last year was probably sped up with the use of this technology too.
My crafting friends have used it to answer some of my questions e.g. how to use PVA glue to stiffen a piece of crochet ready for hanging. One of NAH's friends also uses it to quickly produce a computer program which he can then debug and edit.
I can see good things can come by it, but I'm scared of the bad things, so I've stayed away from consciously using it myself - who knows how much I've been using it unconsciously? Quite a bit, I bet.
However, yesterday a number of my online friends played around with CHATGPT to create a fun characterisation of themselves. I resisted joining them pretty much all day, but eventually gave in to temptation thus proving I'm pretty shallow when it comes to the use of new technology. You can see the results above of me as a 'confident gardener in a blooming paradise' - CHATGPT's title, not mine.
How did I get the result? Surprisingly easy to enter the information, fairly long by comparison to generate the result which left me feeling pretty uneasy about the resources I'd used up in generating this piece of frivolity.
Here's the screen shots of what I entered...
How do you feel about AI? Do you use it in your everyday life, if so, how?
UPDATE 16/2/2026
I've had some brilliant and thought provoking comments, thanks to everyone who's contributed.
I've seen quite a backlash over the past couple of weeks to the kinds of AI image created like mine. Lots of people joined in the fun and it's clear many people didn't like the frequency of seeing them and prefer to see authentic images in their timeline. I get that completely, and usually feel the same which is why I'm quite surprised at myself at joining in the fun. The cynic in me wonders who and why the meme was created and what they or AI algorithms stand to gain from it.
However, it's also clear AI is well embedded into our online lives already. Yes, I could have chosen not to take part in this instance, but I have no means of stopping what Google's, Facebook's etc AI presents me with when I do a search or look at someone's post. Is there an alternative to these without AI? Are they as effective? I certainly don't have the answer.
I had a wry chuckle to myself a couple of days ago when I saw the harshest critic I'd seen of these images show what they'd prepared for a client. It included a translation into their client's language to help with their bid for some work. AI of course had helped with that translation and probably hadn't been given a second's thought on how it was achieved.
We may rage against the machine and the people who use it, but it's clear it's here to stay.
Haha, it’s really good! I’ve used AI to improve some sentences - mostly for work. Also created some images and converted photos of me and Jamie (zombie couple, 50s couple, etc) which was amusing. It’s a great time-waster but it is so easily abused that I too feel concern about it. But I’m going to take a look at it now and may copy your idea, just for fun 😊
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting Belinda - you've reminded me that I know someone who uses AI to create her regular newsletters and I've often wondered how much they actually edit them afterwards
DeleteThe hair and cats are good - but the 'flowers' in the garden, not so much.
ReplyDeleteWell, Diana I actually spent quite a bit of time identifying the flowers when this was created and most of them wouldn't look out of place in my garden. However, most of them also appeared in someone's 'garden' who lives in Arizona... alongside a large cactus to provide 'authenticity'. I wonder which flowers AI would choose for your South African garden ;)
DeleteYes, I have mixed feelings about AI, too. I understand as you do that I'm probably already using it much more than I realize. I guess there's a place for it, but I truly hope it doesn't take over the information, artistic, communicating and creating realms. It's truly difficult now to know which photos and videos are created with AI or a person. (Can I trust the video of the kitty hugging the dog?) I'm also very concerned about the harmful environmental and energy-use effects of data centers as partially expressed by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in this article: https://tinyurl.com/4da9e5cd. I keep thinking there should be some kind of stamp or notification required for items created using AI. I wonder if that could or might happen? If not, we can't really trust information or art that we view and consume.
ReplyDeleteGreat points Beth, thank you. The energy/water issues around AI concern me too, particularly when I read about the choice of locations being used in the USA. I can understand the need for clean air locations to reduce the dust - hence desert areas being preferred but not the impact these locations will have on water catchment and supply. When I make my Instagram posts I see it offers me the opportunity to indicate AI generated images (which mine aren't) and I wonder how may AI creators are honest enough to say this?
DeletePS we also have a local proposal for one of these data centres going through a planning application at the moment and residents aren't that happy about it.
DeleteMaybe it’s my age but I don’t really want to go there. The misuse of AI abounds in the wrong hands. I’m at the point where I don’t believe anything I read. And it’s a time waster.
ReplyDeleteGood point Jenny and I wonder how much we're being manipulated to not believe what we read or see, which historically has been a dangerous state of affairs to be in
DeleteWhen I told my son the thing that bothered me most about having my books published was that I'd have to do a lot of public speaking to promote them (which I fear), he asked some AI widget and it gave a long, considered, 'thoughtful' answer scraped, no doubt, from countless self-help sources. There were many things I could do to prepare, all of which I know intuitively, but it was an amazing list. AND said son is a psychotherapist who is still in demand as a 'real' voice for people struggling with areas of mental health. Now, if only I could get an AI creature to do the speaking for me!
ReplyDeleteI expect from the online backlash I've seen around the making of these images since my post that people will demand the authentic you, Janet! I wish I could find the conversation I saw recently where and author asked AI to critique his latest work which exposed how the bot's answers were what it 'thought' the author would like to hear. The author poked so many holes in what was said in the initial critique and subsequent replies, it was clear there was a lack of understanding of the author's work in the conversation. Quite illuminating!
DeleteThanks for your thoughtful responses everyone with some excellent points made. I've updated my post in the light of what I've seen online over the past week or so in response to the explosion of these images across social media
ReplyDelete