We have finally outsourced thinking and what a relief that can be but also a blessing to those who don’t think! There is an ai for that is the handle of the website with the same name and one that is literally mind boggling for me. An AI for song creation, an AI that can design your space, an AI that tells you what to eat or even to take that decision. And while being particularly brainless may be a lure, there are some who believe that AI can be worked with together in tandem or what’s that world, better collaborated with. But then I feel aghast when the Husband hands me a deepseek generated letter or the Father quotes ChatGPT for the best schools in Bangalore or the Brother looks at astrology notes from Gemini. Perhaps that’s because I like to write and this is a case of sour grapes for ChatGPT maybe actually writing better than me, is mode polite and follows grammar to the T.
When I ambitioned for a smart phone, a smart watch, a smart refrigerator I decided that my watch would track my parameters and drive me to be more healthy, yet I realised I couldn’t quite outsource my will-power(!). Last time I checked willpower is a purely offline resource and one that is pretty personal. The AI tracking telling me to do this or do that sounds to me like a warden and wants me to duck from its control. Who wants to be controlled I suppose, and that’s when the power off works wonders. Perhaps it is time to usher in an era of NI or natural intelligence. And with the tremendous growth in population aren’t we not leveraging on Natural brain power?! Today when architects are bringing put render after render of what the space is going to look like, I feel like the entire surprise of creation is thrown out of the window. That said I am not old school totally and love the fact that technology allows me to have books on my finger tips, my family just a video call away or knowing what an influencer thinks is the future of clothing.
I have been styled by my stylist parked away in Sikkim, or my nutritionist 2000 kms away, my personal trainer who lives in the same city whom I have never met! The way technology flattens the world is amazing for and wonderful all the same. But as we replace sunlight with red light therapy, awareness with validation and knowledge over wisdom, I balk at how AI is being celebrated like the future. Don’t read, listen, don’t think, ask is letting the grey cells develop in some, while not in others. People are excited to use tools to measure, to embrace AI wholeheartedly, to not have to fire a neuron! But then the AI is best entrusted work that frees up the human brain to be human, basically de-robotising the man, the tasks those can be avoided can!
As for me am just happy that two people subscribed to my blog this week, ascertaining the fact that people do still read. And have written this without the help of AI, though it may have been laced with alacrity, it would not have been me!
Vedasri Siddamsetty 