Anatomy of AI Cold Turkey, by Charles Hugh Smith

It can be done! People can live without AI! From Charles Hugh Smith at oftwominds.com:

The problem with AI and the rest of Ultra-Processed Life is we slowly lose the ability to even grasp what’s been lost.

No, this title is not AI slop: AI cold turkey means there’s no AI monkey on your back: you don’t snort it, mainline it, consume it or use a skin patch. You’re done with that dependence and addiction.

I don’t use AI in my writing, or in any other way. To the degree that Google Search now displays an “AI overview,” I am exposed to this application of AI, but I can click on a primary link and ignore the overview, which is sometimes wrong. For example, a search for a local county council member listed an official who was no longer in office. The county website with the current office holders was the top link.

I want to explain my decision not to use AI, which can be understood as a kind of intellectual body with a specific anatomy. It’s not a decision based solely on ethics, though it’s already clear that AI is turning the Internet into a mixture of untrustworthy slop and malicious content. It’s not a Luddite reaction to new technology; I was an early adopter of personal computer and Internet technologies.

I am not against AI in its entirety. To the degree that it automates mechanical processes, it is useful. For example, generating and organizing transcripts, or scripting robots to trundle around a warehouse to identify various items and place them in a shipping box. These are easy-to-formalize processes, not thinking.

I know a very few world-wise individuals with exceptionally broad life experience and expertise who have insightfully queried AI tools. But these individuals likely represent 1% of the general populace.

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One response to “Anatomy of AI Cold Turkey, by Charles Hugh Smith”

  1. Stumped AI again with the Ken Stabler skeleton dropping back behind skeleton o-line comic card from 1992.

    Wish I had kept that one but needed the money.

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