Artificial Intelligence, endearingly, called AI, as a kind of caressing pet name, has become the excited talk of the town though, I am informed, has been around a donkey number of years. Since 2001, to be precise. This, relayed by a young technocrat friend, who can barely contain his smug contentment. An hour after hearing him explaining to me how AI works, and putting me on, without my asking, on Chat GPT (have not the vaguest idea what it stands for!) sets me packing for home, and in a near-command mode, telling me I’d be expected back after spending some time with AI.
Whatever for, I blurted?! Apparently, I needed to return after gathering whatever information I fancied, giving this bright-eyed boy the pleasure of having another convert to this multiplying fleet. And it’s not that one is forcibly recruited to join the “armed forces”, he chats on, “it’s purely voluntary!” To sum it up: when you have an Aladdin in a lamp, right at hand, whyever would you not want to sit pretty, possibly get a foot massage, and see how things are taken care of for you, at the rub of the lantern, or in this case, by speaking to Chat GPT—the most evolved AI in the galaxy, this nugget for furtherance of “my education!”. And before proceeding, the idea of starting a blog, was as they say, nipped in the bud. Did you know that Gemini—another AI entity—and the rest of the team, puts whatever scattered, incoherent thoughts blurted out, in an orderly, coherent manner in less than half a minute?! And that’s not it, if you spend a minute more with AI, it shall replicate the tone and texture of your writing, garnishing the production with phrases and expressions which are characteristically yours! Writers, now redundant?! And here, one is just warming up to this entity—a degree in Law, Medicine, Business Administration, Engineering etc. and etc.—nothing to fret over, acquired without burning the midnight oil. All the answers to the questions smacked breathlessly one’s way, in a few gasping minutes, or correction, in a New York minute. Now the only thing left to do is, “Copy & Paste” and send it to the esteemed, eagle-eyed professor, who stands cofounded at your till-then-unrecognized brilliance. One walks out of the applauding Convocation Hall, neck adorned with a Gold Medal. Must halt here: does earning such a degree lighten the steps, make one stand tall?! And once when one joins the work-force, conferred with a hefty pay-packet, accompanied by perks, such as a company account, opening the portals to fine wine & dining at the many fancy restaurants, housed in those hitherto unapproachable 5-stars, is one not reduced to a bundle of nerves since one knows zilch about the job in hand?! No Sir, with the phone on one’s person, AI is always at one’s side, snuggled safely in the pocket, to be taken out every few seconds, to ask for directions.
AI, life’s compass! So, it goes without saying, with this precious, priceless Intelligence, there are no rabbits-in-the-headlights moments. Panic, whatever is that?! The catalogue of struggles, now history! By putting one’s brain or, is mind more apt, in deep-freeze and relying on an application to do all the thinking and functioning we free up time. Free to do exactly whatever it is that makes us relaxed, comfortable in one’s skin?!Yet despite or in spite of the liberated hours, there is no shortage of heartache. Here, referring specifically to the kind of heart-woes brought on by romantic love, the first flush of infatuation, possibly the love that happens in college. Patch-ups were never easy, the roads were thorny, strewn with many misunderstandings, till one could possibly be back together for whatever little or long time…Of course, now it’s plain, clear sky sailing—Romeo-Juliet, Laila-Majnu are not names wringed out to swear undying love upon. Go to AI, your friend for life, with your heartache unguardedly detailed and at full-gallop, like an arrow from a bow, your love is restored, for you to walk down the well-pruned rainbowy path paved by who else but…but Artificial Intelligence. This commodity, or call it creature, can write love-forlorn epistles accompanied by please-take-me-back songs with the jilted ones relatable, teary face popping up, outstretched arms looking for an unprompted cuddle. Yes, in this day and age, the broken-hearted can sit slack-jawed, let this Superficial Intelligence, cover all the tough terrains, till hit by the next road-bump. These personalized letters, after dropping a few hazy hints about what one wants, are penned away to a sister or brother and whosever special, on birthdays and whatever momentous occasions. Customised for every need. Special people need to be shown how very special they are, right?! And, if this isn’t enough, what about the hard and cold fact of not being able to go anywhere—as in being shackled to the house, hammered to its walls—if there is no GPS to direct you to the desired location. Hire an Uber and yes, you have to “drop your location” for the cabwallah to know where it is you wished to be “dropped off”, your destination point…but the driver unable to drive you unless his GPS is on?! How totally ridiculous is this?! Not too long ago, professional drivers, could take you anywhere; fine they might take a detour, unsure of the roads, but…but the GPS holding their hand every step of the way, patiently, benevolently steering them away from cul-de-sacs, doling out minute-to-minute traffic clogs, piloting these road-hogs at every turn, till they make it to the landing place, the journey’s end.
Remember Aladdin in his lamp?? How he’d, with a mermaidesque swivel, billow out of the smoggy emerald-green glass, and once out, would morph from this miniscule form into a towering giant, quite overshadowing his Master, at whose bid, he had reported to duty, his Lord’s wish to fulfill at all cost! (That explains his skyscraping stature—he needs the physique to run his Lordship’s every day errands!) The Djinn, the Genie, to follow the Master’s Command to the last letter.
AI started off as an Assistant, to provide us information at the drop of a hat. We were supposed to be smart enough to process it, expand on it, season it with our own thoughts, then how did we let it reign over us?! To the point of no return, to No Man’s Land?! Answers anyone?! Ah, AI, must again be deployed, for this one too!
Renée Ranchan