The other day I clicked on a headline that was presented to me on the default home page for my browser. It was something like, “This is the best hike in Washington.”
The article that it took me to was crap. So much for AI generated content. While it did name the trail, it gave its location as something south of the border with British Columbia and north of Mt. Rainier. Which like saying Oregon is located south of Canada and north of Mexico. Accurate, but not all that helpful. That went for the rest of the article as well – it had words in it but they weren’t very compelling.
Ever since that ONE click, my home page keeps trying to lure me into similar articles. Things like, “What every hiker needs to know before hitting the trail” and “Top 10 Trails That No One Has Ever Heard Of.”
It’s like a pesky new friend that only knows one thing about me and keeps trying to push that button. It feels desperate.
But it highlights what we know about the Internet – that to get our attention, the algorithms will pigeon-hole us. I frequently see this with my kids– they click on a video about making a watermelon smoothie and then all of a sudden, the app suggests all sorts of watermelon videos. As if oranges, strawberries, and blueberries no longer exist.
It also underscores that AI is not yet all that helpful or useful yet (and I’m paraphrasing some of my friends at Microsoft). So as writers wondering how we harness AI, I’m reminded it requires our creativity to inspire it to create something of value.
It’s all good, as long as we remind ourselves from time to time that there’s a whole wide world out there. Maybe I should turn off the computer and go take a hike.
I’ve published a related post on my personal blog: Emotional Literacy
Please check out these other items of interest:
More about Wynne Leon and her story-telling journey
Workshop about creativity jump start that I delivered with Dr. Vicki Atkinson
Speaking and workshops on leadership through creativity to build resilient teams
Podcast about the how and why of creativity
Articles and corporate creativity resources
Corporate evaluate your team needs for creativity
Individual creativity survey for individuals
My book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.
You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @wynneleon
(featured photo from Pexels)
I always prefer the natural world to the artificial one. And instead of calling AI artificial intelligence I call it artificial ignorance 😁and your post seems a confirmation!
That’s a funny nickname for AI, Cristiana! Love it. I agree about the natural world – so much more settling.
Oh yes…love that watermelon smoothie example. I like your antidote to the force fed flow of info…take a hike! 😉
Take a hike – I love it!! 🙂
😜
I hate that AI tries to pigeon hole us. I am now taunted by unwanted cruise deals, lol
Hilarious! Isn’t that awful, VJ? Now I never want to research anything like I did recently with a football score in the case the Internet will forever be pushing college football updates at me forever!
Yeah… I write horror, thrillers, mystery… Meaning I often research guns, interpreting evidence, disposing of corpses and the like. I’m amazed the FBI hasn’t been around to introduce themselves yet!
Lol. Even freakier is if my husband searching for something, I know because the ads that start showing up.
That’s so funny, about your research. I guess you stay out of their sights as long as it’s just characters dying… 🙂
Art cannot be imitated by AI . Art comes from heart and not through algorithms. Recently I wrote a story with AI since a blogger requested and posted it on my blog! It was fun but too many holes! If you are interested here is the link. http://specialmomsblog.mom/2023/12/20/yuletide-calculations-a-festive-ai-thriller/ I think AI has opened a pandor’s box!!!
Oh, that sounds so fascinating, Ganga. I’m looking forward to checking it out!
Thanks!
Artificial Ignorance… That’s the best one yet! We have, I swear, discussed purchases in our living room only to have the computer start throwing up ads for similar items. It doesn’t happen often, but how many times can you write that down to coincidence before you start ripping out microphones?
Oh, I hear you on this, Jack! It’s so creepy, isn’t it?
Ah, the early days of AI. Lots of glitches, and sadly, it is spitting back and regurgitating to us what it thinks we want, because that’s how the learning tools were programmed to do. I remember when personal computers were becoming common, and people were disillusioned even then, so the phrase “Garbage in, garbage out” was coined. It holds so true now!
If all of us on WP can create solid content, hopefully we can have an effect (drop in the bucket) on how information is gathered when the bots do web crawls.
Love this comment, Tamara. Garbage in/garbage out – so true. And here’s to creating great content. Love how you see everything as an opportunity!
How AI works is scary and fascinating at the same time. At least to me.
As I get it, all the AI-s are still specialized in their specific areas, like for text, images etc. But the day we create an AI that has all the functions in one, then we are somehow F*
Especially because we humans are still not there in our consciousness to use it for the best of all of us.
Ah, what an insightful comment about using AI for good or for evil. Right!
“The article that it took me to was crap” your right the internet was much better when you clicked on something and it took you to myspace page with dancing hamsters with flashy stars on it. That was when the internet was exciting.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who is noticing that AI is a rather nosy neighbor and he doesn’t add any value to the neighborhood. I search one little item on google and I’ll see it for weeks in my various social media feeds. Annoying. It will be interesting how this evolves in the future. Hugs, C
Your post captures the quirky yet often frustrating aspects of how AI-driven recommendations can create an echo chamber around our interests, sometimes missing the mark on depth and relevance. It’s a humorous yet insightful observation on how these algorithms can overly simplify our diverse interests. Your approach to weaving this experience into a broader conversation about the potential and limitations of AI in content creation is thought-provoking.
The way you highlight the need for human creativity to guide AI towards producing valuable content is especially compelling. It’s a reminder that technology, at its best, amplifies human potential without replacing the nuances that make our creations genuinely engaging.
I’m curious, in your writing and exploration of AI, have you encountered ways or tools that help strike a better balance between automated content curation and preserving the richness of our interests? How do you envision the future of AI in supporting writers and creatives while maintaining the essence of human storytelling?
Also, your work on emotional literacy and personal storytelling sounds incredibly enriching. How do you see the role of emotional literacy evolving in the digital age, especially as we navigate the complexities of technology and human interaction?