These videos feature ChatGPT which, as I understand it, is not the kind of powerful AI that can run factories, etc. But don’t take my word for it. It’s all I can do to place a call on my “smart” phone or get logged in to my doctor’s “convenient” new portal.
(And yet I can still turn on an Xbox and play video games. Go figure … )
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Header image AI-generated
I recently became a user of ChatGTP. So far I’ve used it for things like medical questions and it seems to work well. Its info makes sense and is verifiable from other sources, including the half-life of medications. It gave me good advice on how to save about $150 on having a second remote key for my car after one of the two broke. It explained a stock market question and clarified data storage for my computer. It helped in shopping for for a surge protector and TV’s after lightning fried both my sets about 2 weeks ago. I understand the controversy over AI, but it’s here and there’s no putting the Genie back in the bottle.
I’ve had ChatGPT on my computer and phone for quite a while, and the few things I asked it to do (usually create an illustration), it did pretty well. I just found these videos funny because they demonstrate some simple things that, surprisingly, ChatGPT can’t do.
The tasks you mention are the same kind of thing Gemini does for me via verbal “Hey Google” requests to speakers around the house. (I avoid typing whenever possible.) Examples (all necessarily prefaced with “Hey Google”): Which cognitive tests did Trump take? Who is the guest tonight on Stephen Colbert’s show? Would WD-40 work as well as 3-in-1 oil to loosen a rusted connection? What information would I need to establish an estate? Would peas be a good addition to shrimp scampi? What things should I consider when doing a tub-to-shower conversion? (A creature of habit, I still sometimes say “thank you” when I get a helpful response!) If I ask anything even remotely medically related, it gives good, thorough answers but always cautions that it is not a doctor and I should consult a medical professional.
Most importantly, it can hear me from anywhere in the house and if I ask, it will call my son or 911, establishing a voice connection via the speakers.
As for the videos above, Gemini admits it has no way to see what I’m holding, and it knows there are 3 r’s in the word strawberry. Both Gemini and ChatGPT are incredibly useful, seemingly limited only by the skill and imagination of (hopefully well-intentioned) users.
(Sorry to hear about your TV’s. Was that the night all the tornadoes hit Missouri? I thought about you, but it looked like the bad stuff was northeast of you.)
P.S. Almost forgot what I use it for the most: setting timers and reminders
D’oh, I just realized I said pretty much the same things back on April 11. Stereotypical old woman — repeating stories (probably because we forget we’ve told them before)
It scares the shit out of me, Colorado, the whole AI thing.
Obviously, not those examples of ChatGPT, but things like Peter Thiel’s Palantir …
It should scare you. One need only contemplate what a single individual with malevolent intent could do with AI. As far as I know, there are no guardrails, no voice or programming to interrupt and say “No, you can’t do that” or “No, I won’t do that.” Nor is there any inherent “duty to warn” where AI will notify authorities if something dangerous is being planned.
interesting and think not yet, but it’s learning. and lots of overreaching terrors, like the tracking of people and privacy invasions
Overreach has become the norm, I fear.
johnthecook…AI will NEVER take my job, because it can’t. I cook, bake, wash dishes, mop floors, clean up messes, and answer questions from different people all in the proximity of that time frame, and that is just the half of it. Nope, it will never replace a muti talented Kitchen Manager on a mission to be a good customer service person. Besides who is going to take the freshly baked bread out of the oven and smother it in REAL BUTTER. None of that margrine stuff?
Well, some of those tasks could be performed by robots (some of which run with the help of AI). But you make an excellent point about customer service. No robot can provide that warmth, smile, and sincerity. (At least not yet.) Personally, I place a very high priority on great customer service and that, more than any product being sold, is what keeps me going back to a business. And you’re right; as far as I know, no robot can judge exactly the right time to take that yummy, perfectly baked bread out of the oven. And yes, real butter. Always. Mmm!
johnthecook I like how you said ROBOTS…plural as in more than one. ME is a singular pronoun, in other words it will take multiple robots to replace one man/woman on a mission to multitask the job. Priorities change from time to time while working in the kitchen Can the AI robot anticipate what is more important, the customer’s needs, wants or the task at hand? Oh, by the way, I want to buy something at the snack window. Do you have change for a $20.00?
Thank YOU PiedType for entertaining my question.
No thanks necessary, John. It will be a miserable world indeed if we get to the point where we must deal with robots instead of warm, caring, smiling human beings.