This cursed tech gave me just what I didn't need: a new husband
I have had very little to do with AI - at least not in a way I recognise.
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If I'm very lucky it will remain that way. I fear that those younger than me will not have the same privilege of experiencing the natural and boundless intelligence of those around them, they won't have the joy of blundering through the acquisition of knowledge. They may never have the "a-ha" moment and because of that one absence, I'm filled with grief. Figuring out stuff for yourself is one of life's great pleasures.
The nearest I've come to discovering AI's horrors on a personal level is knowing how mistaken and misguided it can be.
For a time it claimed I was married to Ralph Jackman, brother of the more famous Hugh. I have no idea how it came to that conclusion but it has since come to its senses. The closest I've come to Ralph is reviewing his book for another publication in which I complained about his enthusiasm for mentioning cricket stars. My husband also loves cricket but I don't think the internet knows that about him.
But I know this about AI. Its bosses keep trying to persuade church leaders it's our equivalent (which, if you ask me, is just trying to pretend those same bosses don't have to take responsibility, representatives of agents without agency. "It's not our fault. AI is as smart and sentient as we are.")
AI keeps making mistakes, it has no moral boundaries - and it's destroying work. I don't mean it's destroying jobs - of course it is. But it's also destroying labour, poisoning and perjuring as it goes, making everything a little worse, day by day. You only have to listen to AI slopify on that hideous streaming service and you will know exactly what I mean. Fake music by ghost artists.
A new report, Gender and AI: Where's the Harm?, by deputy director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership, Australian........
