Artificial Intelligence and my fear of being drowned in rubbish

Here are a few headlines from online magazine articles and blog posts I quickly browsed past today.

• 5 Famous Philosophy Quotes That Can Change Your Life
• 30 Best Mark Twain Quotes When You Want a Dose of Levity or Profound Wisdom
• 15 Of The Nicest Things You Can Ever Do For Your Partner
• 3 One-Hit Wonders That Are All About Hot, Steamy Lust
• Psychology Says People With These 3 Personality Traits Are More Likely To Stay Single Forever
• The 13 Most Magical Long Walks In the World

So what?

Well, even though I can’t be sure, I strongly suspect that most of them were written by artificial intelligence (AI) with little or no human assistance.

Yeah? So what?

(Featured image: Artificial Intelligence – AI-generated illustration.)

What’s the problem with artificial intelligence?

You shouldn’t really ask me about the details because I’m generally technology-positive, perhaps a little bit too positive sometimes. When something new becomes available on my laptop or mobile, I’m always eager to test and discover which new opportunities it can give me.

This also goes for AI. Here are some examples of my conscious use of it:

• Language support: Norwegian was my primary language for 56 years, and I’m pretty good at it. Suddenly, fate made me switch to English. Thank you, Grammarly, for continuously watching me and making me see all my errors.
• Generating images: As you can see on this website, I often use AI-generated images as illustrations. I wish I could have created all the illustrations myself. However, I draw and paint like a 5-year-old and don’t have the time to run around and take all the necessary pictures.
• Research: I notice that I’m already using ChatGPT more than traditional search engines, such as Google and Bing, when researching a subject. Why? Because it’s usually quicker to find the information I need that way. Can I trust it? No, but asking ChatGPT isn’t worse than Googling in that respect. And I’ve been around for a while. I know I must double-check my sources.

Did you notice I deliberately said these were examples of my conscious use of AI? Because AI is already built into so many apps and services that we use all the time. We must read a lot of fine print to know whether we use AI or not.

So, c’mon now, what’s the problem?

Will AI take over the world and exterminate the human species?

All readers my age must have been spooked by films like War Games (1983) and The Terminator (1984). I certainly was.

Nevertheless, this is not something that keeps me awake at night. At least not yet.

Sadly, if the human species is exterminated, it’s still more probable that the human species itself will do it.

Will people in power use AI to monitor and control us?

Definitely. On a national level in some countries already. And remember, ‘people in power’ aren’t only dictators and security services. AI will also be used to monitor and control you as a consumer.

Hopefully, legislation will catch up with technology soon—at least catch up enough to protect our fundamental rights as citizens of democracies.

Will AI take our jobs?

Yes, I do believe there will be less of some types of jobs. However, I’m not convinced that this will necessarily mean mass unemployment.

Things also happened in the job market when networked computers became standard equipment on every desk in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For instance, traditional secretaries almost disappeared because everyone was now supposed to type and file themselves.

I miss the secretaries anyway. They were the ones who always knew how an organisation worked and what had happened decades ago. If I needed to know something, I asked the secretaries, not the managers.

We might see the job market adjust again to a new situation. AI may take jobs that machines do much better than humans, such as highly repetitive tasks. This would free up human resources to do jobs that humans do much better than machines, such as tasks requiring creativity.

Can AI mislead us?

Of course, but not deliberately (yet). AI ‘chews through’ vast amounts of data to learn from it. If the information fed into the AI is wrong or biased (and a lot of the information out there is wrong or biased), then the output we get from AI might be incorrect or biased as well.

AI can even fabricate information sometimes. This is called ‘hallucination’ but might be presented as facts.

However, this doesn’t change much how we must relate to information we search and find online. With the amount of deliberately falsified information out there, we must always use all our critical capabilities.

So, what exactly is it that bothers me today?

Will lazy content ‘creators’ use AI to drown us in worthless rubbish?

Yes, and that’s what I find slightly annoying right now. If I asked ChatGPT to write articles based on the titles I mentioned initially, I bet the result wouldn’t be far from the actual articles.

So, I had to test, didn’t I? I asked ChatGPT:

Can you write a short article with at least 4 reasons why elderly men are grumpy?

And the AI-generated response was:

Why Are Elderly Men Often Grumpy?

As people age, it’s common to observe shifts in personality and mood. While not all elderly men are grumpy, the stereotype of the “grumpy old man” persists. But is there truth behind it? If so, what are the reasons? Here are four common factors that might contribute to grumpiness in elderly men:

1. Physical Discomfort

Aging brings inevitable physical changes—aches, pains, and chronic conditions can significantly affect mood. Arthritis, back pain, or reduced mobility can make everyday activities more challenging, leading to frustration and irritability. When discomfort becomes a constant companion, it’s no wonder patience can wear thin.

2. Decline in Testosterone

Testosterone levels naturally decrease as men age. This hormone doesn’t just affect physical health; it also influences mood and energy levels. Lower testosterone can contribute to irritability, low energy, and even depression, making grumpiness more likely.

3. Feelings of Loss

Getting older often comes with a sense of loss—retirement can lead to a lack of purpose, social circles may shrink, and the passing of friends or loved ones can weigh heavily. These emotional challenges can manifest as irritability or withdrawal, as elderly men process and cope with these changes.

4. Reduced Tolerance for Nonsense

With age often comes a sharper sense of priorities. Elderly men may have little patience for trivialities or inefficiencies. After decades of life experience, many prefer to cut to the chase, and what might come across as “grumpy” could simply be a no-nonsense attitude.

Conclusion

Understanding the reasons behind grumpiness in elderly men helps foster empathy. Physical discomfort, hormonal changes, emotional struggles, and a refined perspective on life all play a role. Rather than dismissing their mood as mere grumpiness, acknowledging these underlying factors can pave the way for better communication and connection.

What’s wrong with this?

It’s not bad. It’s just as good as much of what we see posted on blogs and social media today.

But it’s basically a listing of facts. There is no lived life, no actual experience behind the words. No real opinions.

Why on earth should I want to post something like this as an article on my website or my social media? Let alone pretend I have written it? There is no point! Anyone can ask ChatGPT to write this text; it would take them five seconds to write the prompt. And if they do, no real contribution to the world has been made. Nothing has been created.

Except for another worthless listing of facts created by a machine. Which makes it harder to find real information, real creations, and real experiences that can help real people among all the automatically generated rubbish.

No, I’m not grumpy 🙂

 I’m expressing genuine opinions. Even with today’s rapid technological advances, you must expect to wait a long time before a machine does the same.