Who needs AI?

© 2023 Bill Wallsgrove

Some of my best friends are AI – in literature, at least. Ships Behaving Badly in Iain M Banks’ Culture novels for example, which led a human friend to say they couldn’t make a worse job of running the world than humans.

I am sad to say I expect less in reality, and any technology under the control of the rich few.  But should we fear conspiracy or cock-up more, I wonder?

I seem to have become a luddite about ‘smart technology’ in managing infrastructure, delivering less and threatening more than enthusiasts are claiming. Systems too complex to manage, or to understand the potential implications of; and products that don’t offer much except big price tags.

But I had to smile at this image, the first result of my brother using an AI art app to create images for me of duck-billed platypuses.

3 Thoughts on “Who needs AI?

  1. John Sander on February 8, 2023 at 8:23 am said:

    Our ability to reason will always set us apart. I think often we overlook or disregard simplicity as the best solution.
    Ruth, loved the article.

  2. Kerry McGovern on February 14, 2023 at 3:07 pm said:

    Penny’s book is a great illustration of the complex systems that, like weather systems, make infrastructure useful. AI can’t, by its design, foretell implications of intervening in such a complex network. Humans have trouble taking diverse impacts into consideration.

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