By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –As part of the semi-annual event arranged by the pensioners of the national organization by which I was once employed, we were treated to a presentation about that mysterious element of the modern world known as AI, or Artificial Intelligence.
I retired from my employed position about 20 years ago, and while there I became fairly fluent in the use of the computer for such tasks as translating, editing, research and DTP (desk-top publishing). I understand that most of those tasks can be performed to some extent by AI today.
Although I try to keep abreast of events and trends as they occur, it is well-nigh impossible for a simple, lay person such as myself to keep up with the heady pace at which many aspects of the modern world are changing. Many of my former colleagues seem to have felt the same way, judging by the enthusiastic attendance at the event, though just catching up with former friends and acquaintances was also a sufficient incentive to attend the event.
And so we were treated to a huge screen and a tiny lecturer who explained to the audience what we were seeing, in a framework of what could be defined as ‘AI for Dummies,’ even though not all those attending should necessarily be described as such. While I don’t regard myself as a dummy, I’m certainly far from understanding what AI is all about.
The first part of the presentation was simple enough: we were told that AI takes all the information that is out there on the internet, on Google and every other platform, amasses all that knowledge and is thus able to answer any question one may ask and provide any information requested. In addition, it has the ability to use that information to generate new content, which is original and did not exist before. That is certainly very clever, and also extremely useful, I’m sure.
We were shown how AI can resolve such issues as making appointments in health centers, solve priority issues in medical situations, even aid in diagnosis of ailments, serve as personal assistants in bureaucratic organisatons and generally aid and support all kinds of routine activity, essentially making human intervention unnecessary.
This may make many work situations superfluous, causing widespread unemployment, but may also open up different positions that never existed before. We were even shown a video of humanoid robots operating in a situation that required judgment and action that were far more than the simple technical bureaucratic functions that computers have been able to undertake till now.
Anyone who grew up in England of the 1950s and 1960s, as I did, and read comics such as Beano and Dandy, may remember those strips of the Crazy Professor who developed robots along those lines, though those generally tended to go off the rails and cause mayhem and pandemonium all round.Those of us who have grown accustomed to using mobile-phone assistants (e.g., Siri) or voice-activated home aids (e.g., Alexa) have been using AI without knowing it. So AI is ‘invading’ every aspect of our modern life.
After the event I went home, took the laundry out of the washing machine and transferred it to the drier. As I did it I wondered where was the AI assistant who should have been able to do the job for me. Later in the evening, when the drier had finished the cycle, I took the laundry out, folded it up and put the clean, dry clothes away in the cupboard. And as I did so I asked myself the same question again.
And when is AI ever going to be able to change the diaper of my new-born granddaughter?
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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion, Israel.