So to build on the theme from my last post of wandering into an untamed, young, but increasingly savage landscape with utter naiveté, I think it would only be right to discuss the new threat to civilization that is AI. As a quick bit of housekeeping before I dig in, I’d just like to let y’all know that I will never use AI to create content on here. Period. You get the real, delayed, and rambling me. No bits or bytes included.
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I went to the veterinarian the other day, and besides the cloying baby-talk to my dog, the first thing the vet asked, with a phone in hand meant for her purpose, was if it was OK for her to use AI to transcribe the visit and assist with her notes/report. I was taken aback. J was there and was willing to consent to it, and everyone turned to me as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.Â
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The vet mentioned that because the Ai transcribed the meeting notes for her, it made her enjoy her job again. They seemed almost pleading about it. Why not? It’s just a small, tedious task. Everyone, J included, seemed content with allowing AI into this space.
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I felt ridiculous. At the same time, I felt more justified in spite of that. What in the world do you need a vast, nearly sentient supercomputer for to give my dog her shots, tell us she’s eating well, take her vitals and pass us on to the next year? I get that it takes out the paperwork part that you don’t like about your job, but that isn’t really my concern.Â
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Can’t we just be humans (and dogs)?
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Dogs do not concern themselves with AI. AI doesn’t give them treats, or pats on the head. An AI cannot go for a walk, or cuddle on the couch. AI doesn’t pull the burs out of her popcorn scented paws as she tries to gently chew on its hands in benign protest. Dogs know who loves them and what is right is sunlight, walks, tasty treats, and human affection. Dogs don’t need or want constant stimulation. They thrive on being in a state of boredom and contentment. Dogs understand this mortal coil better than we do.
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Tedium, boredom, drudgery. We curse these gray, compulsory times with a sense of contempt. More and more, however, we are finding those moments to have actual, real import on our psychological health. Humans, like dogs, were never meant to be active and stimulated all the time. Between your political team eviscerating the other in some “beat down” of a sound bite that gets repeated over and over, the blaring car stereos with specifically tuned sound frequencies, the artificially flavored and preserved food products, and the digital heroin of blue light and aesthetic brute force constantly screaming for your attention, your time, your money……when do you get to actually be alone with yourself?
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More now than possibly ever do we live in counterintuitive times. Freedom comes from anonymity. Friendship through distance. Self contentment through jealous preservation of one’s time and effort from others and the outside. It was not always like this. To live this life comes down to intentionally closing oneself off. Self denial has always been a tenant of moral systems, but the old philosophers didn’t know how pervasive that fight would become.
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The implications of using yet another piece of digital wizardry bring to my mind the story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby. We want so desperately to be acknowledged and communicated with, to have a friend or to fight, that we keep reaching into the dank, sticky tar and getting more and more stuck. At what point are we well and truly stuck? At what point does Brer Fox emerge from the bushes and begin planning to skin us and roast us over the coals?
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So I refused to consent to AI during our vet visit. Who knows if they thought me the crazy or excessive one. Eventually, people will give up so much of their humanity to new digital gods, that they will reduce their substance to a state where their opinion of my eccentricity is far less impactful than my dog’s opinion of me.Then again, I suppose it already was.