More Thoughts On Artificial Intelligence

Introduction

This is not to be taken and researched information, this is just my observations on the general concepts of computing with a few examples where I can.

The lead image is an AI creation of mine using Nightcafe because I am not an artist and do not wish to infringe copyright, and here is an article that I wrote on the subject.

Artificial Intelligence. It is artificial but it is not intelligent. This is why.

Oh My AI

If you are reading this, and I know you are, think how these words are visible to you. On the equivalent of a circuit board, a lot of binary digits (bits) are combined into bytes and bigger combinations (8 and 16 bits) to represent the letters and words that you see on screen.

The method of doing this is by programming that was done by a human, using human intelligence, to allow us to communicate.

These basic building blocks are combined in ever more complex combinations, so we can hear sounds and see pictures when we watch a YouTube video that is still made up of combinations of bits that are transmitted down wires or through the atmosphere in waves and then translated by the devices that we hold in our hands to benefit and enjoy from what we receive.

The thing that computers are very good at is doing things very fast. Remember pocket calculators that could do some things that were at least difficult in our heads, like what is the square root of 293? It's 17.1127 and a lot more small numbers, but I only know that because I used the calculator which is one of the apps that is on my phone. I could have worked it out myself but it would have taken a lot longer than pressing the square root button.

This is the computer doing a human task very fast. It is not being intelligent, it is following instructions perfectly.

Then we can get a computer to play chess and make informed decisions. Because of the computer's speed, it can evaluate all possible outcomes from a single move, based on possible responses from its opponent. Often computers can beat their human opponents. The computer is not more intelligent, it is that it can take all the information and from that make the most likely winning move.

But remember this was programmed by a human.

I have spent over forty years programming in various languages, but my ability to do that was facilitated by someone else creating an environment to enable me to do what I do.

This brings us to the subject of this article, "Artificial Intelligence is a brand name for a tool that we can use but we have to be careful with.

Fire is useful but if you don't control it, it can burn your house down. It can cook and heat but needs careful control and I feel it is the same with AI.

I have talked about art and how I use it, I find AI music a bit worrying because often the results are more than acceptable, far more professional than I can do on my own, but I do use it sparingly if I cannot find an existing piece of music to use.

It is a tool and this is an example where I used it, would love to know your opinion.

I feel Vocal writers feel most threatened by AI creations that are accepted as Vocal pieces, though someone summed it up perfectly for me:

"What should I read something that somebody couldn't be bothered to write"

A couple of people have contacted me and said that they were going to use AI for all their future writing, but I pointed out that It is not their writing.

Again this is going back to the chess story. AI writing is based on human writing and tries to replicate that. I was tricked int sharing an AI poem (not maliciously) but you can check that out here.

Conclusion

I will leave you with an excellent informative piece from Judey Kalchik here. AI can be a useful tool but it can burn everything to the ground if not kept under control.