I'm sort of like an evangelist about this. Whenever somebody posts anything about using AI, I pop into their comments asking if they're aware of the environmental impact because I think most people don't know. I'm probably annoying the shit out of some people, but I don't care.
Very well said! I hate generative AI with every fiber of my being, and I find myself more horrified each day by the casual use of it. Been feeling very 'old man yells at cloud' about it lately as well.
Same same same to all of this. I went to college (English majors FTW!) to learn to read and write and think critically and I don't think I could ever respect myself if I gave in and let AI do any writing for me. Partly, I worry that if I ever did that my own brain would begin to be less sharp and that's happening enough already with the brain fog brought on by menopause. One of the smartest, best thinkers I know recently told me that they used Chat GPT to draft a boring letter that they didn't want to write. They edited it heavily but found the framework Chat GPT easier to jump off from than a blank page, but I was so disappointed. They justified it by saying "it's here, we might as well learn how to use it before we become old people yelling at clouds," but I just refuse. I don't care if it makes me like a person who railed against computers, preferring to keep using their typewriter. And don't even get me started on the environmental impact! I hate everything about it.
I like the analogy that using AI to write a paper is like using a forklift at the gym... yes, the weights get lifted but that isn't really the point, is it? With writing, it isn't just that the thing gets written, it the thinking that matters. The thinking is the whole point!
If they can't even get Grok to be consistently racist it will be a long time before they can inject the appropriate use of sarcasm, smart ass and quick wit. (Plus tech bros famously lack a sense of humor) I think you're safe for a long time.
Thank you Wendy! I am in grad school right now and I am so grateful that the professors are very up front about NO AI. I actually got email yelled at by a professor because I submitted something incorrectly (...twice) because she needed it a certain way to make sure it wasn't AI. I laughed at the idea of my power point presentation being something AI would produce. I was the kid in undergrad terrified I would get nailed for plagiarism because maybe I cited something incorrectly. I can't imagine paying money to go to school and letting the Terminator 2 robots do my work for me.
My husband is an engineer and is so embarrassed by how bad AI is. If this is what puts him out of work, everyone needs to head for the woods because things will literally be falling down. We are committed to raising our kid with as little AI as possible.
My hill to die on is to try to get people to stop calling large language models and predictive algorithms “AI.” For the love of dog, it is not artificial intelligence. It is a very large, very expensive computer playing the odds as to what the next word, the next pixel, or next action should be. While sure, some of human development/thought/intelligence works like that, not all of it does (perhaps not even much) and that difference is meaningful.
(Also it is insanely expensive and only masquerading as cheap/free/easy. The reason to avoid leaning into using it is that IT WILL BE RESTRICTED, IT WILL GO AWAY, IT WILL ENSHITTIFY. Unless what you do is large scale data processing, you are mortgaging your future.)
My 16-year-old daughter is passionately anti-AI. Her main reason is the environmental impact.
I'm sort of like an evangelist about this. Whenever somebody posts anything about using AI, I pop into their comments asking if they're aware of the environmental impact because I think most people don't know. I'm probably annoying the shit out of some people, but I don't care.
I think you're probably right that most people just don't know. Keep it up!
This makes me feel so hopeful. Miles is also strongly anti-AI for the same reason.
Very well said! I hate generative AI with every fiber of my being, and I find myself more horrified each day by the casual use of it. Been feeling very 'old man yells at cloud' about it lately as well.
Just nodding along here. 100% agree with everything you said.
Same same same to all of this. I went to college (English majors FTW!) to learn to read and write and think critically and I don't think I could ever respect myself if I gave in and let AI do any writing for me. Partly, I worry that if I ever did that my own brain would begin to be less sharp and that's happening enough already with the brain fog brought on by menopause. One of the smartest, best thinkers I know recently told me that they used Chat GPT to draft a boring letter that they didn't want to write. They edited it heavily but found the framework Chat GPT easier to jump off from than a blank page, but I was so disappointed. They justified it by saying "it's here, we might as well learn how to use it before we become old people yelling at clouds," but I just refuse. I don't care if it makes me like a person who railed against computers, preferring to keep using their typewriter. And don't even get me started on the environmental impact! I hate everything about it.
I like the analogy that using AI to write a paper is like using a forklift at the gym... yes, the weights get lifted but that isn't really the point, is it? With writing, it isn't just that the thing gets written, it the thinking that matters. The thinking is the whole point!
If they can't even get Grok to be consistently racist it will be a long time before they can inject the appropriate use of sarcasm, smart ass and quick wit. (Plus tech bros famously lack a sense of humor) I think you're safe for a long time.
Goodness you just put into written word every thought in my brain and soul regarding AI/Chat GPT. Thank you! ALL OF THIS! ALL OF IT!
I couldn’t agree more. (My 16yo is also evangelically anti-AI, which gives me hope for the future.)
Thank you Wendy! I am in grad school right now and I am so grateful that the professors are very up front about NO AI. I actually got email yelled at by a professor because I submitted something incorrectly (...twice) because she needed it a certain way to make sure it wasn't AI. I laughed at the idea of my power point presentation being something AI would produce. I was the kid in undergrad terrified I would get nailed for plagiarism because maybe I cited something incorrectly. I can't imagine paying money to go to school and letting the Terminator 2 robots do my work for me.
My husband is an engineer and is so embarrassed by how bad AI is. If this is what puts him out of work, everyone needs to head for the woods because things will literally be falling down. We are committed to raising our kid with as little AI as possible.
My hill to die on is to try to get people to stop calling large language models and predictive algorithms “AI.” For the love of dog, it is not artificial intelligence. It is a very large, very expensive computer playing the odds as to what the next word, the next pixel, or next action should be. While sure, some of human development/thought/intelligence works like that, not all of it does (perhaps not even much) and that difference is meaningful.
(Also it is insanely expensive and only masquerading as cheap/free/easy. The reason to avoid leaning into using it is that IT WILL BE RESTRICTED, IT WILL GO AWAY, IT WILL ENSHITTIFY. Unless what you do is large scale data processing, you are mortgaging your future.)
I am SUCH an AI hater, don’t even get me started. It honestly baffles me that people I love and respect use it all the time.
I think I’m technically Gen Z but at almost 30 I’m not sure I’m particularly with it re: the culture