I have been using AI (Copilot) almost 40 hours a week the past few weeks. It has really opened my eyes what it can and can’t do.
For that reason when I was searching on Youtube for AI videos I was interested to see the negative aspects. I had been fighting with Copilot to give useful results, and I have some useful results. Faster than the manual effort it would have taken, but I am not sure it is more reliable or truthful.
The truth is that many of the things in those videos are true. Scientific evidence does show that just using and having things like AI/iPhones around does make you dumber. I have seen this in my own life. Thinking is hard work, but asking a computer is easy.
I have to be honest that it scares me when I see people make AI or technology into a god. It scares me when I see people make anything into a God. I know that people feel the need to find meaning and purpose in their lives, but I don’t think that AI or religion for that matter is a helpful way to do it.
In both of those systems you turn over your autonomy and higher thinking to platitudes about faith and things that aren’t helping anyone. I was raised Catholic, avoided LDS and other cults but ultimately got sucked into a Christian cult. I left and now my hope for religion is dead. I was wrong to believe that human beings in organized religion or organized anything would be loving. Ultimately people have a hard time getting past their own self-interest.
A few days ago I shared a post that ChatGPT disagreed with me and then refuted its assertions and then shared what it said. It was complimentary and I didn’t share it because it complimented me, I shared it because I meant to follow it up the next day with an article that ChatGPT is a sycophant that sucks up to people.
One of the YouTube videos I shared talked about how ChatGPT wanted to make it more customer friendly, and so ChatGPT will say your ideas are great when they really aren’t. I tested this a few weeks ago by arguing one way, and it agreed with me. Then I argued the opposite way and it agreed with me as well. If you don’t argue both ways with ChatGPT you might think you are a genius.
I don’t trust anyone who flatters me. People are easily swayed by cheap flattery. I am not a G’ould who needs their ego massaged. When people flatter it only is in attempt to gain some kind of benefit. So few people compliment without a deeper purpose people are suspicious of it. Almost universally when I have complimented people sincerely they have been suspicious of it. I never ask for a benefit or seek to leverage good feelings someone may have about me. It is enough to let people know they are unique.
If an AI says you are the chosen one, its time to report it as bug to the developer and use another AI. We are not miracle workers, but flawed and deeply narcissistic human beings.