Dangers of relying on AI

[xantia_v6]

A true story:

A friend recently learned that an ex-colegue had been diagnosed with a degenerative disease with no hope of a good outcome. She decided to send an E-card to the unfortunate person, but could not think of what to say on the card, so she asked ChatGPT to write a suitable sympathy message. The result was a well written, sensitive message that seemed to strike the right note, so she pasted the message into the E-card and sent it off.
She then re-read the card and realised that she had copied one line to many, and at the bottom of the E-card was the line: "or would you like a more sensitive message?"

[mickthemaverick]

Just imagine an AI 'how to' on driving! The mind boggles

[bobins]

There's an article on the BBC webshite today about the tech billionaires buying up properties and building bunkers in preparation for the forthcoming AI led zombie robot apocalypse. Oh joy, something else to look forward to with the continuing enshittification of life

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly17834524o

[CitroJim]

Oh my gawd

[PaulC5]

I am getting fed up of Google always first returning AI summaries on searches and then if you go down the search results even more AI ones turn up. I even searched on Google on how to turn off AI and the first result back is an AI one but it looks as if it can not be fully turned off unless AI is lying. It might get to the point where only AI results come back but then there will be nothing for AI to summarise unless it makes up stuff.

[CitroJim]

If you're like me Paul, you'll soon develop a 'muscle memory' that allows you to ignore all AI slop returned by searches - I've now got quite proficient...

Also, in searches, I need to see at least ten instances of the same result to have any belief in it...

[Sloppysod]

Just don't use Google!! use somthing different like Duckduck, Startpage or Bing, along with Firefox, in my opinion its much better and private experience

[myglaren]

Have to say that I predominantly use Google.
Also have Brave Browser, Tor, DDG on Chromium (Google doesn't work with it, strangely). The default was Yahoo but that was completely crap.
I don't like DDG and at the foot of the first page it offers a Google search and I generally take that option.
Also Start Page but that is 'enhanced by google'.

[CitroJim]

Google is fine; you just have to use it with a bit of care, understanding and awareness.

A bit like everything really.

[myglaren]

Look for the off switch!

Gizmodo

We may not have a killswitch for AI as a whole, but Mozilla is giving users the ability to shut off AI in its Firefox browser (though it could have just not included those features in the first place). In a blog post, the company announced that it will include a toggle in the next version of Firefox that will turn off AI functionality. The feature will be available in Firefox 148, set to be released on February 24.

[CitroJim]

I applaud Mozillia for this...

According to lots of Reddit posts, Google are using AI bots to keep an eye on Google accounts looking for dodgy material within - especially illegal stuff like CSAM. They are constantly active and scan everything you store in the cloud allegedly. There's reports of lots of false tiggers on quite innocent material that a human would see in context - such as a photo of a smiling baby enjoying a bath or children swimming at the seaside. We've all taken photos of our children in such situations. The bots don't see them as innocent, flag them as CSAM and promptly lock out the account.

The appeal procedure is handled by AI bots and never is a human involved. As a result, accounts and all held within them is lost with no way of getting them back.

The recommendation is to keep good backups of all that might be in Google and migrate away from it if possible. And there's no point in migrating to Microsoft OneDrive as they do the same but to - for the moment - a lesser extent.

I have a good backup strategy in place and have given all my accounts a very careful check for anything that might be a bit iffy. Needless to say I didn't find anything but it did give me a good opportunity to give everything a good old spring-clean and get rid of a lot of ephemeral stuff there was no point in wasting storage space on.

The more and more widespread use of AI in so many areas of our lives worries me greatly...

[mickthemaverick]

Yet more justification that I'm happy not using any cloud at all, never using google search and ignoring AI entirely. I never use chat help or open any email from unknown source or click on any links, even in this forum, to a social media site. It does mean I miss stuff from time to time but so be it..

I am considering a changeover to Linux Mint to get shot of MS too. However W11 has performed well for me on all my PCs and so I am reluctant to change while that goes on. I do not allow cookies either and all seems to work ok without them!!

Unfortunately I do have one exception to the above which is my Youtube channel but that may be sacrificed when I can find another easy way of sharing my videos when needed!!

[CitroJim]

As I always say Mick. If you use the cloud sensibly, in full awareness of the ramifications and don't do anything illegal or naughty in connection with it then you'll be fine.

My No.1 rule is to put into the cloud only stuff you don't mind being fully in the public domain, keep good backups of everything and be aware of the risks. A bit like life in general really.

Also, always be on the lookout for scams and potential bearers of malware. Do all that and you can happily enjoy the rich benefits that come along with the cloud and social media.

[Argos69]

I've discovered that younger members of your family will stare at you like you've just walked off Noah's Ark, if you slate anything modern, like AI. They're so accepting of any form of technology without question or cynicism. That in itself scares me!

There appears to be a collective innocence that doesn't fully appreciate that AI is the next "Nuclear weapon". Sure, it can be used to advance our lives and help the world, but just take a good look at who's running the show! Currently, is there a world leader, Prime Minister or other leader, that you truly admire? We often laughed at Ronald Reagan, but together with Gorbachev, he created an atmosphere that kept us alive.

Many, many years ago I was in the nuclear industry and the way we kept our computer systems clean, was very simple. They weren't connected to the outside world and there was no Wifi, Bluetooth, USB connecters or even disk drive slots in many cases. Us mere mortals can't live like that. We have to have mobile phones and the internet. I couldn't keep my overcomplicated Citroen going without the help of the good folks here and that entails being on the internet. So I'm now exposed to the tsunami of mis information and artificial endorsements on G@@gle etc. As for "X" and "Struth Social", I don't even bother at all.

So, I'm waiting to be swept off my feet with hope and joy about the future of AI, but when certain wealthy tycoons are building "Armageddon proof bunkers" under their mansions, I remain cynical.

Never store anything on the cloud you can't do without.
Never send a private text or email you don't want the world to read.
Never click links on incoming emails.
Always get a second opinion on advice you get from the internet (except here of course !)

[mickthemaverick]

I fear one of the reasons for younger generations accepting technology based things without question is the simple lack of basic education. I am currently tutoring a 16 year old for her exams in Maths. When doing something like simplifying algebraic expressions she can handle the necessary manipulations but when it gets down to evaluating 9x² where x = 3 she needs the calculator! It saddens me greatly that the examination board provide a crib sheet with all the necessary formulae and allow a calculator. They don't need to actually learn anything apart from how to use a calculator!!

It is such a shame that the younger generation will end up like the crews on Startrek, all wearing the same clothes and relying on some machine to feed and clothe them!!