<p class="bodytext">I have a confession to make. I have been done in by the world of artificial intelligence. My arrogant self used to think, ‘I have seen many technological changes in my lifetime – this too will pass without affecting me.' I could not have been more wrong. I am now fighting for my survival.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As an amateur writer, I like to sit down and pen my thoughts with a lot of nuanced thinking and catchy phrases. Not anymore. The AI-triggered writing tools are constantly finishing my sentences, putting words on my screen, if not in my mouth, and otherwise controlling my narration to the point where I end up writing (if the activity can even be so described) the exact opposite of what I meant to convey.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Driving a modern car is nothing short of a nightmare. Why does the audio system try to announce everything and have a conversation with me? If I stray as much as a few millimetres into the adjacent lane, the steering wheel corrects itself with a screech, as though I just committed murder. And heaven help me if I am trying to reverse my car into a narrow space – the vehicle starts beeping and flashing like a police car. I strongly believe human beings will be unfit to drive cars of the future, and those who do will end up in an ER with a heart attack.</p>.Putting AI in its place.<p class="bodytext">Many times it feels like I am living in a world of make-believe. Heating and cooling in my house is automatically controlled based on my pattern of breathing. My refrigerator reorders supplies depending on what is (not) available inside. If I am not well, an AI tool analyses my symptoms, comes up with a diagnosis and indicates a set of medicines to be taken. And travel and vacations are a breeze these days – I simply follow the suggestions (more like orders) from my digital assistant who, obviously, knows what is good for me better than I do. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The sheer speed with which AI is taking over various aspects of life is stunning. Change is not incremental. It is more like, ‘impossible yesterday; perfectly done today’. I cannot open my computer or smartphone without being told what to view next, what to eat next or when to take a walk. It is like having an unwanted but powerful companion attached to my hip. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The biggest impact of the AI phenomenon is the generation and distribution of (fake) news through willing participants on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms; news is disseminated faster than a wildfire, with unintended, sometimes catastrophic, consequences. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The tragedy of the whole scene is that I seem to be the only one incapable of living with and benefiting from this great gift to mankind that everyone else is cooing about. I seem to have truly met my technological nemesis! </p>
<p class="bodytext">I have a confession to make. I have been done in by the world of artificial intelligence. My arrogant self used to think, ‘I have seen many technological changes in my lifetime – this too will pass without affecting me.' I could not have been more wrong. I am now fighting for my survival.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As an amateur writer, I like to sit down and pen my thoughts with a lot of nuanced thinking and catchy phrases. Not anymore. The AI-triggered writing tools are constantly finishing my sentences, putting words on my screen, if not in my mouth, and otherwise controlling my narration to the point where I end up writing (if the activity can even be so described) the exact opposite of what I meant to convey.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Driving a modern car is nothing short of a nightmare. Why does the audio system try to announce everything and have a conversation with me? If I stray as much as a few millimetres into the adjacent lane, the steering wheel corrects itself with a screech, as though I just committed murder. And heaven help me if I am trying to reverse my car into a narrow space – the vehicle starts beeping and flashing like a police car. I strongly believe human beings will be unfit to drive cars of the future, and those who do will end up in an ER with a heart attack.</p>.Putting AI in its place.<p class="bodytext">Many times it feels like I am living in a world of make-believe. Heating and cooling in my house is automatically controlled based on my pattern of breathing. My refrigerator reorders supplies depending on what is (not) available inside. If I am not well, an AI tool analyses my symptoms, comes up with a diagnosis and indicates a set of medicines to be taken. And travel and vacations are a breeze these days – I simply follow the suggestions (more like orders) from my digital assistant who, obviously, knows what is good for me better than I do. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The sheer speed with which AI is taking over various aspects of life is stunning. Change is not incremental. It is more like, ‘impossible yesterday; perfectly done today’. I cannot open my computer or smartphone without being told what to view next, what to eat next or when to take a walk. It is like having an unwanted but powerful companion attached to my hip. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The biggest impact of the AI phenomenon is the generation and distribution of (fake) news through willing participants on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms; news is disseminated faster than a wildfire, with unintended, sometimes catastrophic, consequences. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The tragedy of the whole scene is that I seem to be the only one incapable of living with and benefiting from this great gift to mankind that everyone else is cooing about. I seem to have truly met my technological nemesis! </p>
