Are you actually using AI yet?

[Jingthing]

I'm not talking about looking at AI summaries on "google" type searches.

I mean actually actively using it as tool to the point where it's making a difference in your life.

Getting older, I was perhaps a tad slow getting into using a smart phone than a kid would be, but of course it's more or less a necessity of modern survival these days.

But I'm feeling resistant to AI and it causes some anxiety like I'm falling behind.

I won't need it for work as I'm not working. If I was I would have gotten into it already.

But I feel a kind of bias against it. Like its better than us and going to make humans obsolete. 

I remember struggling to learn basic computer programming which was very hard for me and now realizing AI would "laugh" at that level. 

On the other hand I do realize it's inevitable and there are benefits to using it.

Not looking for a guide on how to get started in AI. That's easily available.

This topic is more about how people who have not embraced it yet (and maybe never will) are FEELING about such an obviously massively transformative technology.

 

[bubblegum]

Yes, but I use it like a browser I guess. It's fun at times when you correct AI. You'll get responses like: "You are absolutely correct, I had not thought of that." And it will then go on trying to help you in a certain search. 

[Harrisfan]

AI is crap

[Will B Good]

It is amazing for certain things........no more searching through manuals, instruction booklets, user guides......boom....there's the answer.

[KhunLA]

Probably, as I quote AI info, quite often, as it finds it much quicker than I can.   But you do have to ask the right question.

 

 

[Celsius]

Task: rewrite Jingthing's rantings in 20 words or less...

 

"I'm asking about the feelings of those who haven't deeply integrated AI into their lives, like my own anxiety about being left behind."
 

[Jingthing]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:42 PM, Will B Good said:

It is amazing for certain things........no more searching through manuals, instruction booklets, user guides......boom....there's the answer.

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That's interesting.

That makes me think that I actually used to use a typewriter and if I had some research to do I needed to drive to a library and look at microfiche files manually on a viewer.

For a major paper, that might mean several drives to the library.

I think at some point people just say I've had enough technological change.

I've seen that happen to some older people with smart phones for sure. But not adapting they're hurting themselves.

I remember teaching older people how to use America Online.

 

[Harrisfan]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:42 PM, Will B Good said:

It is amazing for certain things........no more searching through manuals, instruction booklets, user guides......boom....there's the answer.

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How do I ignore the Trump haters

[rattlesnake]

Firstly, I think we need to get the terminology right. From what I have seen so far, the systems colloquially referred to as "AI" are simply optimised algorithms. They can be useful when seen and used as tools in specific contexts (for example, Grok will produce the same results you would get on Google, but will aggregate them in a split second and present them in an organised way, using grammatical elements which form a coherent text).

 

However, relying on them for things usually confined to the human realm (such as communication in its various forms) results in a dumbing down, from a syntaxical and conceptual viewpoint. I would even posit that where "artificial intelligence" begins, real intelligence ends.

 

This is a tool which needs to be balanced and used within its limits. In my experience and opinion, it is certainly not the revolutionary "next frontier" lots of people make it out to be. And ultimately, it only regurgitates what it has been programmed to "say" (which raises ethical and perhaps regulatory issues).

[Will B Good]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:51 PM, Harrisfan said:

How do I ignore the Trump haters

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.....as ChatGPT.....hurry.

[Harrisfan]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:53 PM, rattlesnake said:

Firstly, I think we need to get the terminology right. From what I have seen so far, the systems colloquially referred to as "AI" are simply optimised algorithms. They can be useful when seen and used as tools in specific contexts (for example, Grok will produce the same results you would get on Google, but will aggregate them in a split second and present them in an organised way, using grammatical elements which form a coherent text).

 

However, relying on them for things usually confined to the human realm (such as communication in its various forms) results in a dumbing down, from a syntaxical and conceptual viewpoint. I would even posit that where "artificial intelligence" begins, real intelligence ends.

 

This is a tool which needs to be balanced and used within its limits. In my experience and opinion, it is certainly not the revolutionary "next frontier" lots of people make it out to be. And ultimately, it only regurgitates what it has been programmed to "say" (which raises ethical and perhaps regulatory issues).

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Yeah it's a selective (often disjointed) summary of google. Mostly crap imo. 

 

Type into AI

 

1 Best walking cities in Thailand

 

The answer is inferior to my experiences and limited to incomplete travel write ups

 

2. Monthly rentals in Chiang Mai

 

Again the answer is very limited

 

 

 

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Not yet but close. Teams at work gather information, look at compliance, and write reports. Now we are needed. See what happens but I'll be retired. 

[Jingthing]

Another memory.

Going out to buy my first Texas Instruments calculator.

It was expensive!

Lots of debate about whether students should be allowed to use them in class.

[John Drake]

Yes, I use Grok, and it's a godsend. But you need to know how to use it. By that, I mean you must bring knowledge to AI and make connections and feed those connections--at least in my field. If you just go and ask questions out of the blue, you get a glorified search engine. People who are able to use AI most effectively are going to leave everyone else in the dust.

[BLMFem]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:50 PM, Celsius said:

Task: rewrite Jingthing's rantings in 20 words or less...

 

"I'm asking about the feelings of those who haven't deeply integrated AI into their lives, like my own anxiety about being left behind."
 

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Maybe you could use it to figure out what complex words like ranting actually works?

[BLMFem]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:51 PM, Harrisfan said:

How do I ignore the Trump haters

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Have you tried not engaging with them in this forum? Or is that too outlandish a suggestion for you?

[Jingthing]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:16 PM, John Drake said:

Yes, I use Grok, and it's a godsend. But you need to know how to use it. By that, I mean you must bring knowledge to AI and make connections and feed those connections--at least in my field. If you just go and ask questions out of the blue, you get a glorified search engine. People who are able to use AI most effectively are going to leave everyone else in the dust.

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Yeah I totally believe that in a work context.

Compared to before AI, it seems like super human powers.

But how are you using it outside the work context?

[Kinnock]

I've found ChatGPT to be a good tool for translation.  Also handy to summarise lengthy reports, but you still need to check the original document as it can miss critical details as it has no real understanding of the context.

 

For writing in my own language, the AI LLM drafts are too flowery and too full of errors to add real value.  Only useful if you can't string a sentence together yourself.

 

Also been using AI to analyse images to measure critical levels in a farming process, but it needs so many images for the training I'm not sure it's an economic option compared to HI (Human Intelligence).

 

I believe that most of the AI industry has been fuelled by venture capital investors, and it's still looking for an economically viable use.

 

Also feel the cost of energy and water consumed by the data centres, and the time and costs involved in training are not always being included in the evaluation of AI as these costs are covered by the venture capital investors - but when assessed by a traditional profit-led business, HI will come out on top .... especially in lower labour cost countries.

[John Drake]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:18 PM, Jingthing said:

Yeah I totally believe that in a work context.

Compared to before AI, it seems like super human powers.

But how are you using it outside the work context?

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I use it to help write articles for scholarly journals. I've had what are almost real "conversations" on abstract subjects and Grok is able to anticipate where I am going in my argument. It actually makes abstract conclusions and can engage in reading a text. I'm very impressed with it. I didn't think I would be. But I'm now willing to pay for Grok. It's database, btw, is never more than 24 hours old. I've used Gemini--not good. ChatGPT mediocre. DeepSeek--just a slower version of ChatGPT, and Meta. Grok is heads and shoulders above. Just try it. Be persistent and ask it to make connections.

[rough diamond]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:42 PM, Will B Good said:

It is amazing for certain things........no more searching through manuals, instruction booklets, user guides......boom....there's the answer.

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"there's the answer." How do you know it is the correct answer!

You end up going to your normal/reliable sources to check/confirm it!!

Total waste of time.  Just go straight to where you would normally check(ed) the answers!

[FolkGuitar]

As a 78 year old retired guy, my only use for Ai is a more complete answer than Google or Duck-Duck-Go.
I do not need to write reports, estimate logistics for developing businesses, write lines of code, or establish Excel spreadsheets to manage my finances.

My questions are along the lines of: How does a Newtonian Fluid work? Or what's the population of Bhutan?

[rough diamond]

  On 4/23/2025 at 12:51 PM, Harrisfan said:

How do I ignore the Trump haters

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Easy.  Just stop posting the same regurgitated cr@p from your MAGA bible!

[Harrisfan]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:28 PM, rough diamond said:

Easy.  Just stop posting the same regurgitated cr@p from your MAGA bible!

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I'm not maga

[Will B Good]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:25 PM, rough diamond said:

"there's the answer." How do you know it is the correct answer!

You end up going to your normal/reliable sources to check/confirm it!!

Total waste of time.  Just go straight to where you would normally check(ed) the answers!

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Because I follow the instructions and it works every single time?????

 

These are 'simple' tasks that can require a lot of reading to find the solution.....AI circumvents all of that.

 

"How do I give a voice command to take a photograph on an iPhone15 pro max?"

 

 

[rough diamond]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:33 PM, Harrisfan said:

I'm not maga

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You constantly act as a mouthpiece for it.

[rough diamond]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:34 PM, Will B Good said:

Because I follow the instructions and it works every single time?????

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Why do you need instructions to search for an answer?

[Stiddle Mump]

I asked it to get me help on the farm.

 

I went there this afternoon. And what?! No help! Had to dig the hole myself.

[Harrisfan]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:34 PM, Will B Good said:

 

Because I follow the instructions and it works every single time?????

 

These are 'simple' tasks that can require a lot of reading to find the solution.....AI circumvents all of that.

 

"How do I give a voice command to take a photograph on an iPhone15 pro max?"

 

 

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Why can't you click on the camera button?

[BLMFem]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:16 PM, John Drake said:

Yes, I use Grok, and it's a godsend. But you need to know how to use it. By that, I mean you must bring knowledge to AI and make connections and feed those connections--at least in my field. If you just go and ask questions out of the blue, you get a glorified search engine. People who are able to use AI most effectively are going to leave everyone else in the dust.

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Have you asked  it what it thinks of Musk? It used to have some pretty strong opinions on him. Wouldn't at all be surprised if it's been neutered. For Musk free speech only goes so far.

[Harrisfan]

  On 4/23/2025 at 1:37 PM, rough diamond said:

You constantly act as a mouthpiece for it.

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No I just laugh at lefties