Last week I shared some thoughts about artificial intelligence and technology. This week, I’d like to share a friend’s cautionary reply.  Here is what they wrote:

“…[T]here are lonely people who consider ChatGPT someone to keep them company and they become so attached to AI that AI becomes their best friend. I have several friends who do just that. They talk with ChatGPT most of the day since they are home alone and either their friends are dead or too sick to visit or they just lost touch… Most are retired and their spouses or partners of many years have died.”

In reading this I immediately thought about my parents, who were married to each other for more than fifty years.  My dad survived my mother by almost 30 years.  Yes, that’s not a typo – my dad lived to be 104 (and almost 10 months, as Daveen often reminds me).  My Dad’s father lived to be 94, which is especially impressive for someone born in the 1880’s. But what is a long life lived without social interaction and companionship?

For the first three months after Mom died my dad received invitations, calls from friends, and casseroles.  But after that, he later confided in me, people stopped reaching out and he had to become his own social secretary.  And, lo and behold, he did a terrific job of it.  I took him to a political gathering once, and after fifteen minutes he grabbed my arm and introduced me to his new friend – a Superior Court judge.

It helps that my parents, when in their forties, intentionally sought out new friends who were much younger than they were.  My dad was great at making friends and openly embraced new opportunities to socialize and expand his circle. In his 80s my dad often drove to the local senior center for lunch.  It not only provided him with social contact, the price of lunch was right — $2.00.  He also took up lawn bowling – at age 90 – and won national recognition.

Sadly, many elderly people aren’t able to navigate the world well after losing their life partner. They find themselves feeling isolated and lonely. In 2023, the US Surgeon General released a report called “ Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” which concluded that Americans experience loneliness in epic proportions (one out of every two people reported feeling lonely). Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General at that time shared statements he was hearing from many people. “I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,” or “If I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice.”

 I suppose, in the face of such loneliness, it isn’t surprising that so many are turning to ChatGPT for companionship. But none of us know how that will turn out. I can imagine there are many implications we haven’t yet uncovered, and I’m fairly certain that AI can’t take the place of human to human social interaction. Perhaps in the dim and distant future (say twenty years from now) we’ll each have two or three Chatbot friends.  Or, perhaps, Chatbots will prefer talking to other Chatbots.

Or the tale may end like a science fiction story I read seventy years ago, with the robot finally informing its human owner:

“Don’t worry.  I’m here.  Nothing can go wrong.  Go wrong.  Go wrong…”

Cheers.

Alan

By the title alone, I’m guessing you already know what this blog is going to be about.

Yep, you’re right – the miracle of artificial intelligence and technology.

Some of us still remember when you had to actually look things up in an encyclopedia. If you wanted the phone number for a local business, you had to flip through the cumbersome yellow pages. And if you needed directions to a location, you either called to ask for directions or you used a map.  Back in the days of yore when you wanted to know something you might even have had to visit a library and seek help from the information desk. (I now realize that I always wanted to use the word “yore” in a sentence, even though I’m not 100% certain what it means. But the more yore I use the more nostalgic I become.)

Okay. Enough about arcane words.

Now we have the choice of manually doing things ourselves or using technology. Do we get off the sofa to turn the lights on, change the channel, set an alarm – or do we ask Alexa to do it? Do we drive to the local library to look something up before it closes or ask Siri, who works 24/7?

I was first introduced to Siri years ago when I saw one of my sons speaking into his iPhone. I was shocked as Siri responded to his request and provided him the information he requested. It was as if he was holding the entire Alexandria Library in the palm of his hand (which is even better than the thirteen volume Encyclopedia Brittanica). And I imagine that Siri can access information from any country. Siri seems to be international. (In fact, I just asked her if she is. Her reply: “Sorry, I don’t understand.”  Siri is always polite. So, following her lead, I thanked her.)

I hope you share my sense of amazement with modern technology. A decade ago, I was on a cruise ship in the ocean near Thailand. It was 2:00 am. I was on a conference call with folks in Denver, Los Angeles, and New York. If that isn’t a man-made miracle, I don’t know what is.

Does anybody even remember mimeograph machines?  They were very popular when I held my first job. We’ve come a long way since then.

I believe we live in a miraculous place and time in the universe.  Do you agree?

Hey, Siri.

Alan

I’ve heard it said that as we age our youthful memories remain strong. That’s certainly true for me (even as I struggle to remember what I ate for breakfast).

What did I love to eat as a kid?

Ice cream. Probably like most kids.

And, as you know from a previous blog, I especially loved ice cream from the Good Humor truck.  Nothing was better on a summer afternoon than hearing the chimes announcing that the Good Humor man would soon drive past the front of our house on Meadow Valley Terrace. While we have many more conveniences today, a daily delivery of ice cream is not one of them. For the past fifty years, I’ve had to drive to a store for my fix of ice cream.  While you can have almost any type of cuisine delivered right to your door, ice cream is typically not included. Would you trust a Grubhub driver to bring you something that could melt en route? Probably not.  Thankfully, Daveen has hidden small ice cream cones in the freezer in our garage, so I never have to go without. It’s not as much fun as getting my ice cream from a truck, but Daveen does deliver with a smile.

As you may have concluded from reading my blogs, I seriously enjoy food. When I was five or six I would always accompany my mom to the grocery store, and, for better or worse, she pretty much let me put whatever I wanted into her cart.

Do you remember the good ole days when restaurants served a basket of bread with your meal?  I used to devour five or six slices of sour dough, and that was even before ordering a meal. Today most restaurants charge extra for bread, thus demonstrating that not all trends are positive.

Thanks to an 18^th Century British nobleman, The 4th Earl of Sandwich (who is credited for inventing it), people started putting meat or cheese between two slices of bread. For the eponymous Earl, it was a way to eat without leaving his seat at the gambling table, and it quickly caught on with the working class and others who didn’t have time to sit down for a full meal.

I’ve probably eaten more sandwiches in my lifetime than anything else. Because who doesn’t love a great sandwich? A Club, a BLT, a Grilled Cheese, and even that comforting staple of childhood, the PB&J.  A few years ago, a nutritionist pointed out to me that an open face sandwich saves a lot of calories, and that one tip has helped me maintain a much healthier weight.

But next time you see me, ask me to hum the Good Humor truck tune.

I still remember that as well.

Alan