AI Was Going to Inspire Me... But It Sucks

I didn’t know what to write about today, so I asked ChatGPT for ideas based on the articles I’ve written on this blog so far. I was hopeful that even if the ideas were crap, I’d be able to take some inspiration to find something to write about.

I guess in a way, I did. Though probably not what was intended.

The ideas that the AI gave me were dumb. They were tangentially related to my previous content, but only slightly so.

1. Overcoming a Reading Slump
2. My Top 5 Fantasy Worlds (That Aren’t Middle-Earth or Westeros)
3. Creating the Ultimate Cozy Reading Nook
4. Book & Beverage Pairings
5. A Weekend Micro-Adventure in [Your Region]
6. Staying Productive Without Tech
7. Comfort Food Recipes for Busy Days
8. Mindfulness Practices I Swear By
9. Lessons Learned From Gaming as a Hobby
10. How to Start a Capsule Wardrobe
11. Interview with a Local Author or Artist
12. Sustainable Living Tips That Aren’t “Buy a Tesla”

1 and 2 weren’t so bad, but then it got a little weird. Like, I don’t talk about food much on this blog. Maybe I should, but I haven’t yet. I also have no clue what a capsule wardrobe is.

AI is very useful, or it can be. We talked about this on the latest Linux User Group that The Linux Cast hosts. But it can also be pretty useless. It seems to do well on the things that Google used to be good at. But when you ask it to do things you’d want an AI to do, the results are mixed at best.

And that’s the issue here. AI has been hyped up beyond what it can actually deliver. This tech could be game changing in the future. It might take over the world and kill us all. Or, it might just end up being a slightly less reliable search engine.

No matter where it ends up, it has certainly captured the attention of the Internet, for good and bad. Like with a lot of new technology, there are people who swear by AI and those who think that’s the devil. There are those who don’t care, but even the new Pope talked about AI.

It’s a thing, as the kids would say.

Personally, I’ve found loads of use for it. I think it’s great for tech support. I’ve also had some good luck with it helping me choose titles for videos. I’ve had less luck when I ask for inspiration, but even that has worked somewhat if this post is anything to go by.

I do think that there should be more caution shown to this technology, though. Not because the robots are going to kill us all, but because AI can be abused. And that abuse can lead to negative consequences for the youth of the world. Kids don’t know that they’re hurting themselves by basically asking an AI to do their homework for them. I know that I would have jumped at the chance to have a computer write my papers for me back in school. Even the most studious of high schoolers would love to make their homework easier.

I don’t have kids, but if I did, I’d try to keep them away from AI until they know how to use it as a tool instead of a crutch. I think schools should teach how to use AI responsibly instead of demonizing it outright. It’s obviously going to play some role in the future. The worst timeline is that it prevents the development of tomorrow’s workforce by teaching them that they never have to do anything on their own.

Cynical, yes, but I think that it’s a real danger. Older generations can fall for it too, but we mostly grew up before the Internet was popular, and that has led us to be, at least somewhat, more cautious of new tech.

So, no, AI didn’t really give me what I wanted. But it got me thinking, and if that’s the way that we use it, it’s not going to be so bad.

This is part of 30 in 30.