One day last week Sweetheart and I got into our new car to go to the Bluegrass concert.
It was a cold night, so we turned on the heater, the seat heaters and Sweetheart turned on the steering wheel heater. At least, Sweetheart thought he turned on the steering wheel heater. Since the car had been parked with the steering wheel upside down, he did not push the heater button--he pushed the telephone button.
As a result, Siri (or Alexa, or whatever her name is) said, “Do you want me to call (my niece in Oregon)? I had no desire to call my niece in Oregon and had not even given the idea a thought. In fact, I wondered how her name had popped up on the screen, so I said no.
However, Sweetheart felt the need to explain what happened and so he did. Siri (or whatever her name is) gave a lengthy pause, so I reiterated, “No.” Then she said, “OK.”
I said, “Sweetheart, you don’t need to explain to Siri (or whatever her name is). She is a computer. She only understands commands. She doesn’t think and reason. At least, I don’t think she does.”
As we made our way to the concert, we were listening to the radio. A news segment informed us of a race that was scheduled to take place in a foreign country. I think it was Denmark. In this race, humans are supposed to run alongside robots and humanoids. I don’t know how long the race is supposed to be, but the reporter said the robots could stop to change batteries. He didn’t say whether the humans could stop for lunch.
Now, I suppose the human winner, or winners, would receive a monetary reward, but what would the winning robot or humanoid receive? Free batteries for a year? Oil to lubricate their squeaky joints? It’s interesting to speculate.
It’s also interesting to speculate what the future of humankind will be as computers and artificial intelligence continue to evolve.
When I use my smartphone sometimes all I need to do is bump it and I end up at a site I never intended to visit. Sometimes I think the smartphone has a mind of its own. Will AI some day have a mind of its own? I shudder to think of it.
It looks as though we are embarking on a “Brave New World,” as once envisioned by Alduous Huxley in his book. Somehow, I don’t feel very brave.
Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com
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