This is harkening back to the days before we had personal computers, iPads, tablets, and cell phones that have enough computing power to accomplish feats that are beyond, well, beyond belief for we old gen whatevers.
My father who had today’s equivalent of a grade 10 formal education, but was well-read, when asked a question that gave him pause for reflection, would say he was gathering his thoughts before replying.
In today’s world, one can speak to one’s computer on one's wrist and ask it a question, and almost without pause, an emulated voice will reply. Using ‘artificial intelligence’ the program searches for words in your questions, provides an answer based on an algorithm, and gives you the answer. It hardly seems possible that the program has searched through thousands of articles, scientific papers, opinion pieces, discussions, dictionaries, and literature and tells you what it ‘thinks’ you want to know in a matter of seconds.
Yes, Derek Jeter was a Yankee shortstop, sort of that position’s Tiger Woods of golf fame. No, I am not sure if he drove a Firebird. Not likely. The likelihood of him driving a car made in Quebec, Canada is low and deemed a .00045 probability that falls outside the algorithm parameters of the person who wrote the AI program on sports, subsection sports cars, subsection shortstops.
My dad, who was a Dodgers fan, after a moment of gathering his thoughts, would add that in Jeter’s first year of pro baseball, he made almost one error every other game in Tampa. (See game 5, Yankees, errors).
Baseball aside, the ability of AI to give us an answer based on information it garnered from the world wide web, is amazing. Is AI always right, always providing correct answers? Well, from the information we humans have given it, pretty much. Who designed these computers anyway? Well, that is now up for discussion as the machines seem to be designing themselves. Later.
Take for instance the use of AI in the recent little rebellion (short-lived) in the federal Liberal Caucus. AI, using polling data, opinion pieces, news items, rumours, and the various crises facing our country, complied an answer to the question of the Liberal party’s viability under Trudeau in an election. The answer frightened some backbenchers (not the Cabinet). They were afraid of getting a pink slip next fall – or sooner. They asked Justin to listen to their concerns and to do a personal assessment of whether he should stay on as Leader of the Flock.
Having already seen and listened to what Siri (an AI assistant) said about this, the loyal Liberals from as far away from Ottawa as Upper Rubber Boot Saskatchewan, said to Justin that he should take a few days to gather his thoughts, and then after the weekend, tell them what he thought.
To be fair to Justin, he did ponder his thoughts – as he walked back to his office. On the advice of the PMO, he did wait until the next day to give his answer to the public – not the Caucus.
However, a question raised by the rebels was what to do about the housing issue, and the related immigrant question needed attention. Justin now turned to AI, not wanting to bother the cabinet with this. Alexi and Siri, what should we do about immigration? Much has been written and said about immigration: its effect on government services such as health and education; the demand for housing; employment – both full-time and seasonal; refugees and background checks; the level of the immigrant’s education; ethnic origin (this by visual examination since it is not allowed to ask this), and how much money they are bringing to Canada.
The AI programs had to look at all these aspects; weigh them based on some geek’s algorithm and get Justin the answer he wanted. Who knew that in the past four or five months there was going to be a flood of anti-immigration articles, opinions, and fake news generated by Donald Trump’s Republican party in the run-up to the US election? The algorithm factored in this preponderance of anti-immigration data and told Justin he ought to reduce Canada’s immigration quotas forthwith.
The PM adjusted the figures for public consumption – the public does not like decimal points – and gave credit to the good work done by the PMO who used to be blamed or praised for work they did not do. He showed the numbers to some of his cabinet, not the caucus, and held a little news conference. Tiff, at the Bank of Canada, was not happy. The Chamber of Commerce head honcho was displeased. The Agri people were confused. The Real Estate moguls adjusted the number of houses needed and boosted the price ratio. Don Trump clapped his hands in glee.
The rebel sheep in the Liberal caucus flock were appeased that the PM had at least pondered the Immigration issue if not his resignation. They could now return to their ridings and say they had tried to get some work done on housing, healthcare, and education. Yes, yes, they would tackle inflation next – maybe after the election.
In today’s world, there seems to be little time to gather one’s thoughts. The immediacy of everything demands quick replies, fast answers, and spontaneous action. If you have no thoughts of your own, ask AI, for surely the correct answer is awaiting you. Or you can fake it, pretending to gather your thoughts when all you are doing is gathering wool. Don’t ask.
October 28, a supposed day of reckoning, has come and gone for my Liberal caucus friends. Their new spin master has a plan or the concept of a plan. Pee Pee, across the aisle, is hoping Justin will stay on. Jaggie may apply to join the Lib caucus; while Yves would love an election, if only in Quebec.
They should all take a breath and wait for the American election results. Just saying.
