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December 7, 2023

Response To The AI Blog Post

By Barry Rudesill

Okay, so last week, I tasked an AI with writing an 800-word blog post. For The Trek, the challenge was to write on the topic of “The effects of abuse on self-esteem.” Today, I want to take a moment to critique the AI article, and to explain to you what I did this.

So, first things first:

Structure. This is actually structured like a formal paper. There is a thesis sentence, introductory paragraph, individuals points, support, and even a conclusion. In fact, if you compared my writing style to the AI, the AI wins in “formal structure”.

Content. Overall, I think the AI does a good job with the definitions, and even the illustrations it chose to include – e.g. self-esteem as an internal mirror that can be warped. I do find it interesting that the AI even mentions cognitive-behavioral therapy, since that’s essentially what The Trek is.

Advice. If someone came to me and told me they had been abused and were looking for help, I would tell them to find a counselor, join a small group, take care of their needs, find peer support, etc. I would also warn them that it isn’t an easy journey...all of which the AI did.

Word Choice. This is something I’ve notice a lot in AI-generated material. The computer uses the words flawlessly, but it can – and often is – overblown. Let me give you an example: “It is heartbreaking to see a vibrant, confident individual reduced to a shell of their former self by the ravages of abuse.” Notice the words used here: heartbreaking, vibrant, a shell of their former self, and ravages. Some of the words are unnecessary, others overly dramatic. It’s not that they’re “wrong”; it’s just not the way that most humans speak.

Emotion. I’ve had a number of people tell me that when AI “speaks”, it tends to be much more factual than emotional. It’s literally a point-for-point progression; where how someone feels – or why they feel that way – is unimportant.

So, why did I do this?

First of all, I did it in response to an article I read. In it, one of the “AI visionaries” said something to the effect that, “AI, combined with robotics, was the future for all interactions.” Robots would become our best friends, our confidants, our counselors, and even our lovers.

Is this hyperbole? Is it overblown speech to make a point? Or, is it something that this programmer truly believes? Well, if it helps you to decide, I’ve read similar things in other articles. Even Ray Kurzweil, a major proponent of AI research, has made similar comments over the years.

So, according to experts, in our future, AI will do the counseling for those who’ve been hurt; and they will provide the companionship for those who feel alone.

Second, if the preceding sentence is true, I was curious what advice I would get from my new “AI Counselor”. Overall, the advice is sound, it’s logical, and its action steps that can be measured. At the same time, the AI doesn’t deal with human emotions. Why? Because it simply...can’t.

An AI can’t understand why recalling something would hurt, why a smell would be terrifying, or why we go from calm to furious with a single word or in reaction to a tone of voice. Ray Kurzweil thinks we’ll get there eventually; but let’s face it, if we can’t explain our reactions to ourselves, what makes us think we can explain them to a computer system?

Finally, and maybe this is coming from years of working in counseling, but I wonder what the effect on us will be when we lose the ability to interact with each other and, instead, choose an AI or a robot as a surrogate. How will it affect our emotional stability when we choose to avoid the risk of messy, potentially harmful relationships with other humans and flee to the “safety” of an AI?

Now please understand that I am NOT opposed to AI, or technology in general. But I think that we should listen to some rather profound words from the movie “Jurassic Park”. In it, Dr. Ian Malcom, played by Jeff Goldblum, says this: “...[B]ut your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t’ stop to think if they should.”

In the end, when we allow an AI to define us, to counsel us, to meet our needs, to provide us with emotional support, and to help us reach what it determines is “better” or “healthy”, are we, in that moment, still human?

I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

As always, we hope you enjoy your journey!

- The Trek

December 7, 2023

Response To The AI Blog Post

By Barry Rudesill

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