I don’t pretend to understand modern technology. Today for the first time, I had to sign in at my doctor’s office on a computer terminal rather than speaking to the receptionist. I figured out how to enter my name and birthday. Then up popped a series of yes or no questions. One asked if I had “multiple births?”. I’ve been asked if I was born again, but I don’t think that is what they were asking. I just checked no.
I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago when I attempted to order a pizza at a gas station convenience store. Another older woman walked in the same time I did and we both stood by the pizza counter expecting the server to take our order. After standing there for about five minutes looking like a couple of idiots, the guy at the cash register asked if we were waiting for an order. The woman said no. We want to place an order. He pointed us to a little screen where we could enter an order, despite the fact that the pizza lady behind the counter could have much easier listened to us tell her what we wanted on our pizzas instead of us fumbling with the touch screen.
The other customer, who I had never met before, helped me enter my order and then I helped her enter hers. The options offered on the menu did not provide exactly what I wanted, but I got something close. Having been humiliated enough, we both went outside to our cars to wait for the pizzas to be done. I never saw her again after that, but when I went back in to collect my pizza, they gave me mine and hers too. The pizza lady was surprised that we did not know each other. Anyway, we got it sorted out and I left with my pizza sort of like I wanted.
It seems to be that we are relying on computers much more than necessary or desirable. Especially concerning to me is artificial intelligence. I have heard fears expressed about AI taking over in ways that are troubling although I do not fully understand all the implications. I always thought computers could never be smarter than the person who programs them. But I am becoming very aware of information fabricated by artificial means that is completely fictional.
So many stories that show up on Facebook or Youtube appearing to be factual are not. We often hear the expression “fake news” where a writer purposely distorts the facts for political gain, but I suspect many postings in social media are now generated by computers via algorithms sourced from no individual human mind. As these capabilities grow and improve over time, how long before we can no longer discern truth from fiction? I am already skeptical of much I see on the internet. Stories that seem ordinarily plausible may or may not be based in actuality. Even photos are concocted. With uncertainty comes distrust and that isn’t healthy when misplaced. Our society, especially young people, are often confused and led astray. Where are we headed?
I see well-meaning friends sharing articles that I know are not true. Often the accompanying text is obviously constructed in a tone that seems incompatible with the subject manner. The author does not speak like a human and probably isn’t. The language sounds embellished. A pattern I have noticed lately is postings about celebrities or famous athletes donating huge amounts of money to certain causes or recent tragedies. Trying to corroborate many of these stories is impossible. I can only imagine the reason these messages are generated. There must be a monetary benefit in collecting hits. I can block clickbait sites that post manufactured stories, but detecting them is becoming more difficult. It now takes more than common sense to avoid gullibility.
The internet is a wonderful tool, but it is being muddied by people (and now machines) that misuse it. I would not want to go back to the days when my World Book Encyclopedia was my go-to source for information, but at least I could be fairly certain that some teenaged hacker sitting in his bedroom didn’t insert a fabricated paragraph. I want to cite sources I know I can trust and verify. And just so you know, I am not a robot.
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