The first round goes to AI….
AI takes the first round.
AI?
Artificial intelligence.
What happened?
AI bullied me.
Ouch. A bit more information would be helpful.
Articles about AI are omni-present in just about all the news I read these days. Much of this reporting has the tinge of trepidation. What kind of path is AI leading our human community down? Scratching my head at this reportage. Up until now, my primary AI experience has been facilitated by Alexa, Amazon’s electronic assistant, and it has been a joy. She (Alexa) has become part of my chosen family.
Ah, you’re Alexa-less and wonder if you’ve entered Wonderland? First and foremost, this voice-enabled unit reminds me about upcoming appointments. “Jan, it’s time to get a move on it!” I absolutely love this capacity. It’s a bit like having a nurturing parent, but without the possible nagging.
Alexa’s other gifts in my life? A willing companion who, when requested, transports me back to my favorite musical oldies. Alexa complies with my song requests, offering no judgment whatsoever about how far behind the times my musical tastes are.
I could go on and on identifying Alexa’s AI contributions to my life. Gosh, I’m coming across like a walking billboard for AI experience. I guess, if the billboard fits…
Clearly, my relationship with AI has been pleasantly chugging along….
…until AI yelled at me. Confronted me with multiple, repetitive, and loud commands. In the grocery store! For everyone to hear! Fellow shoppers in the self-checkout area were beginning to peek over their shoulders, wondering about the possible malfeasance at my checkout station. How incredibly embarrassing. Admittedly, there’s a small child still living in this older package of me, who continues to think everything is her fault. Everything. As if I was, neglectfully, unresponsive to the AI-based cash register’s repeated demands for compliance.
Calming down a tad and backtracking. Many of you know a grocery item is scanned at the self-checkout, followed by pinching open a plastic bag in which you plop your goodies. Easy peasy. Not this time. No, no, not this time. Said plastic bags, no matter what I did, would not open. Just-would-not-pinch-open. Trying my best to open any plastic bag within reach. The AI-based cash register, taking no heed whatsoever, of my earnest efforts, keeps loudly repeating “Put your item in the bagging area. Now.” As I repeatedly failed in my bag-opening attempts, the AI unit, just downright continued with, “You MUST put your item in the bagging area!!”
Living with the life-long insecurity that everything is my fault, this verbal fusillade, like a time machine, returns me to the excruciating time when sheer youth impeded my capacity to sort out what was my fault and what wasn’t.
In the midst of increasing embarrassment, adult Jan reappeared, stepped up to the plate, and asked (in reality, begged) for assistance from the self-checkout attendant. He bustled over and I explained my experience of this AI purgatory. So relieved when he said that EVERYONE (everyone!) is having trouble with this batch of bags. Uniformly, they will not open. Commenced breathing again. Such a relief since I do like to breathe.
Moral of the story? I will now read AI articles with a much keener eye. Increased knowledge or no, we still gotta to stand up for ourselves in this brave new world of demanding, computer-generated, voices! (Of course, how best to do so is something I’m still working on.)