being me

 We have all had our encounters with auto correct. Sometimes it does amuse us and at others can cause confusion or embarrassment. I can hear that being used as an excuse, it was auto correct, I didn't write that. A 21st century response like, the dog ate my homework. Not being tech savvy, it took me a while to understand that I could hit the "tab" button and the next word or phrase being suggested by the computer will be printed. I admit I have found that to be useful at times, but I began using it more to just have it go away than anything else. I would just as soon it didn't do that. But yesterday, for the first time, I got a message asking me if I wanted AI to make a suggestion in my writing. I immediately spoke out loud to my computer, no, I don't want you to suggest anything! I'll write my own story thank you very much.

 I have been hearing a great deal of talk about this artificial intelligence. Just like everything else there are pros and cons. I have to admit I'm not really understanding exactly what it is and what the limits are. I have never been one to readily adopt the latest thing or to pretend that I understand it. I'm still working on a Rubik's cube. I have seen where there are instructions online explaining how to do that. But this artificial intelligence stuff I'm not real sure about. I've heard where it doesn't really make any decisions on its' own, it doesn't think, just offers possibilities based on some algorithm. It makes suggestions, kind of like your parents or friends would make. They always figure they are smarter than you are too. The danger is when the computer begins to think for itself, kind of like what you did in grade school. That didn't always work out well. I'm also being told AI is just learning. 

  Now the suggestion this AI was making regarding my writing was grammatical. I have grown accustomed to and indeed somewhat dependent upon spell check. I find that a very useful tool and saves a lot of time. I'm thinking that dictionaries are going to be as scarce as the World Book Encyclopedia in the near future if they aren't already. How are we going to make a "grammatical" dictionary? There are many dialects, each with its' unique expressions. We don't even have dictionaries that can "spell" the dialects we speak. 

 This is what Britanica has to say: " A dialect is chiefly distinguished from other dialects of the same language by features of linguistic structure—i.e., grammar (specifically morphology and syntax) and vocabulary. In morphology (word formation), various dialects in the Atlantic states have clim, clum, clome, or cloome instead of climbed, and, in syntax (sentence structure), there are “sick to his stomach,” “sick at his stomach,” “sick in,” “sick on,” and “sick with." Will we have to make a selection concerning that in the settings portion of our computers to let AI know where we were born, lived, or what we want others to believe? Social media is especially prone to imposters. I could certainly add a layer of deceit if I just have the computer write in the proper dialect. I wonder if it is AI that is generating some of the terms we hear, terms like child poverty, reproductive freedom and assault rifles. 

  Another issue that occurred to me is plagiarism. If this AI is making these suggestions to me, wouldn't it also make the same suggestion to others? That seems reasonable as we are talking about a machine. Regardless of whether this machine is learning or simply following that algorithm I'm thinking that is what will happen. Then after having "written" whatever it is and publishing that someone else may claim, I wrote that. Are we going to have to include time stamps for everything we write or post? I'm not really that concerned about plagiarism of anything I have written, I would be flattered if someone did, but I can see where it could be a serious issue. I saw on the news where a disgruntled ex-employee used AI to generate a tape to make it appear his boss was using racial slurs. That boss came under close scrutiny and was only cleared when it was reported that an expert had determined it was generated by AI. Still, there were those that said, yeah that's what they say but the guy paid someone off. You know how that goes, once accused many will convict you regardless of any evidence or testimony. 

  Well, AI is here to stay, and I may as well get used to that idea. As with everything new it can be used and abused. Even the most innocuous of things can become harmful. I just hope that there are ways to identify this and keep it under control. It's a brave new world we are living in. Of course, I remember when having a wireless remote control on your television was like magic. Now I can turn on my air conditioner from my phone a half hour before I even get there. I guess I could have AI just write these blogs if I wanted that. Just enter a subject/topic and select "Bonacker" as the dialect to be used. Tomorrow I could choose "New Jersey" as my dialect. Might be interesting, how do they talk in the mid-west? What's the dialect out there?