The case for more AI

Why I think we need to use "AI"

We haven’t discovered or created true Artificial Intelligence yet. There’s a lot of hype, but it’s all wrong.

People have used machine-learning to develop some powerful ways to guess what the next word should be well enough that it feels like it’s intelligent.

But it’s not.

That’s the truth as of this writing and don’t let anyone fool you otherwise.

That being said, the next-word-guessers that we’ve invented (LLMs) are deceptively good at sounding human. Throughout this book I’ll continue to call it ”AI” because that’s what everyone is calling it these days and it’s just shorter and easier to understand, but just know that it’s not true Artificial Intelligence.

Will we eventually have true AI?

I’m not going there.

There’s too much debate about what that even is, and us humans are very complex and more than just intelligence, so it’s hard to tease apart what that really means.

But I promised you that I was going to tell you that we need to use “AI” in our writing.

That’s probably surprising to you.

I need to use it?

Yes.

Pandora’s Box

The first reason is that the LLMs that have been created aren’t going away.

As much as you or I could wish, hope, or pray that they didn’t exist, or ignore them, or go on a crusade and destroy them even, they just aren’t going away.

Artists felt the same way about cameras. Accountants felt the same way about computers. Horses felt the same way about cars … that’s a little speculation there.

Technology doesn’t go away. It just keeps marching forward.

Sorry.

Your kids … and your Parents

The next reason is that what feels new and exciting to one generation is just par for the course in the next generation.

This is very closely related to the first reason, but it’s slightly different.

I was teaching a Bible Study class to some youth who were 14-16 years old and I asked them who was alive before iPhones were invented and only one of them was. That blew my mind. It makes perfect sense—based on those ages—but it was incredible to look at a group of kids that hadn’t lived a day in their lives when smart phones didn’t exist.

I don’t know what year Walkman’s were invented, but I think I remember them becoming popular around when I was at the age that I wanted to start listening to my own music. Meaning I think it was still a new idea to walk around listening to music. Computers weren’t used much in schools until I was in high school and we didn’t have one in our house because they were expensive.

But I use a computer with ease and basically grew up with them even though I don’t think I had one in my house until I was around 16.

Imagine children who have been given a smart phone in order to not cry (no judgement here) since before they were walking.

My kids don’t really google things (used as a verb). They ask Siri and don’t really know how to find answers if Siri doesn’t know (that’s something I’m working on, but that is what has come natural to them).

Crazy, right?

But it’s reality.

So imagine that’s how our kids’ kids are going to be for AI. It will just be normal to interface with computer “intelligences” to get entertainment, education, do work, etc etc.

And don’t think it’s just kids. I see my parents and my wife’s parents and every other adult older than me with their eyes glued to their phones just as much as every teenager.

It’s going to be everywhere.

You’ve been using rudimentary AI for years and you haven’t even realized it.

Your Weaknesses

The last two reasons have felt like a big “get over yourself, kid. The world is changing and you need to change with it.”

This one though is going to have you excited.

Say goodbye to your writing weaknesses.

AI tools are going to take over the parts that you like least about writing and publishing.

I’ll get into this more later, but you’ll be able to focus on your strengths and do the parts of writing that you love, while still publishing a book and not doing the parts you don’t like as much or that you’re not as good at.

Benefits to the Human Race

Whether you accept it or not, all forms of AI (what we’ve had for years, the not-AI that we have today, and true AI that may come in the future) will greatly benefit humanity in many ways that we can’t even predict right now.

There’s plenty of ways that we can already see. Helping doctors, helping neurodivergent people, helping less able people, etc. It’s going to help many people in many ways like all technology seems to do.

Will it have downsides?

Of course. All technology does. As time progresses we strive to use the good and mitigate the bad. We’re never perfect at that, but hey I’m not here to debate that.

It’s NOT AI

Lastly—just to make sure you don’t miss this point—what we have today isn’t real AI, so don’t feel threatened by it!

It’s just a next-word-guesser that sounds mostly human.

It’s not the devil’s work. It’s not Skynet. It’s not taking over the world.

Will that happen one day?

You thought I would answer that this time, didn’t you?

I’m not going there. For today, we don’t have real AI.