AI - Answers, Maybe. Wisdom, Hmmm...

AI has become a hot topic of discussion, not the least of which is in my own home.

You see, I live with two teachers.

They are constantly dealing with AI-driven essays and assignments, often while discovering that their own administrations are using AI to post memos to other teachers, students, parents, and the public.

Not my problem, but I get why they're upset and often confused.

AI has been around for years, so it's not new

Artificial intelligence has been part of our lives for so long that we can't begin to list all the ways we use it.

Think Google Maps or voice-activated answering systems, to name only two.

The first one I use every time I get in the car to avoid speed traps and make sure that I'll get to where I need to be on time. I don't even own a paper map. The second one annoys the crap out of me, while forcing me to realize that AI voices can provide better direction than a person across the globe who doesn't have a clue where I live.

The reason it seems like AI just took us by storm, as with so much in our global world, is the many daily reports we're hearing about it. Many of those include the ugly sides of AI, particularly deepfake videos on our favorite social media platforms, and the rise of scammers using AI to impersonate our voices or those of our loved ones for sinister purposes.

Positive sides of AI

In spite of being the author of over twenty books, some of them award-winning, my grammar sucks half the time. If you've read my work, you won't find many grammar errors, but the blunders I catch are suggestions by Grammarly or MS Word before they even reach an editor's eyes. Side point: Over the years, I find fewer mistakes now than I did in the past. Booboos tend to decrease because I use AI to teach me what I should have learned in elementary school or lost due to a stroke.

But AI, like all our devices, is a tool. They do not replace our responsibility to show up on time for an appointment just because we put the wrong date or time in our planner.

"The more I rely on them, the less I have to think," I've been told. Sadly, this is from the same person who spends all the time they save by scrolling through TikTok instead of spending time with the person they are in a relationship with.

There is, however, one thing that AI doesn't have for us.

Wisdom

Far too many folks I know over 50 tell me they feel out of the loop. They may not understand all the latest apps, so they feel useless, and perhaps hopeless. They feel kids today know more than they do because of the Internet or AI.

Younger people do have far easier access to information than I did when I was in elementary school 60 years ago. But that information is useless without practical wisdom to apply it to their lives.

People over 50, particularly those in their 60s, 70s, 80s, or older, have life experience that AI can't provide.

Some kids type in a question, the AI spits out a response, and they take the info that unfolds as the gold standard for direction.

It's not.

It's information, often originating in Wikipedia, which, while a fascinating starting point, is full of misinformation from everyone who thinks they know what they're talking about, when it's frequently just their biased, undocumented opinion.

Sources for real help and wisdom

Want real advice, a new thought on our completely confusing world situations, or counseling about an issue or job? Ask someone who's had some life experience, not a mindless, possibly unethical AI program.

This is where those of us "of a certain age" can find a place in today's complex global society. Now that I've fully retired from four long-term careers, I've learned a couple of things.

I made mistakes I'm more than willing to admit to others freely, and I'll discuss how one might avoid the same pitfalls. I've also had success in areas that society and some former friends thought were impossible to achieve.

I'm not the only one.

If you are older, you are not useless because you can't figure out which of the three remotes to use to stream a video, or need help in cleaning out your computer's cache.

(You really need to do that. Regularly. Really.)

If you are under 50, you don't have to go it alone. Find someone in your family or circle of friends who would be more than happy to share what they know. I didn't create a successful life by knowing how to do that from the start. I asked questions. I admitted my ignorance. And found so many wonderful mentors, teachers, and guides who were delighted to help me.

Whatever your age, find your place.

Know that your young exhilaration or your older wisdom is valued and needed.

We aren't going to get through the global shitshow alone.

Reach out for help if you need it.

Offer help freely when asked.

Together, we've got this.

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