Artificial Intelligence (AI)

[Stanley]

I've noted the same thing David but have put it down to coincidence or my increased sensitivity.....

[PanBiker]

AI apart, the slow cooker does make rather nice rice pudding.

[Tripps]

What a site ! We start with Artificial Intelligence and end up making a rice pudding.

You recipe sounds good Ian. I'll give it a go.

One of the 'feeds' (Dinner Lady I think) started with two and a half pints of milk. Too much I fancy.

[PanBiker]

The 100g and 1 pint will make 4 servings at least and drink a bit more milk before it's done. You could probably go with half measures if you are just cooking for yourself. Only thing missing is the caramelised skin you get when done in the oven, depends how much of a purist you are I suppose. It will produce a bit of caramelisation round the edges of the dish, I always scrape these into the mix when stirring and adding a bit more milk.

No AI robots were harmed in disseminating this information.

[Tripps]

It can read my mind. . . . Be afraid. . .

Uncle Jim is coming this afternoon, and for tea I'm roasting a chicken in my Halogen oven. I haven't used since I bought the Airfryer about 18 months ago. I got it out because I know how to do the job with it, and I can't fit a whole bird in the fryer.

Now in the news feed I find Spooky.

[Stanley]

I have noticed similar coincidences David but don't spend too much time pondering on their meaning in the grand scale of life. I just accept the fact that I am being watched and analysed and ignore the input.
However, I do think the gadget manufacturers are working overtime on us. I can remember the day when a side oven on the kitchen range was a modern luxury.... (I had a beehive oven at Hey Farm, remember those?)
Microwaves, Slow cookers, air fryers and halogen ovens not to mention outdoor barbecues.... What next?
I'm a dinosaur..... I put my chicken in a closed roasting tin with it's accompanying veggies, herbs and spices and shove it in the oven. Mind you, I did cook some breast of lamb in the slow cooker yesterday.........

[Tripps]

I noted yesterday someone usng the term AGI (artificial general intelligence) in place of just AI.Make of that what you will. I'd say part of a PR mission to get a more wide acceptance.

More important was the fact that I read that Apple News announced the result of the World Darts Final - before the match had been played! I guess they are using AI to compile their news, and the fact that Luke Littler was an overwhelming favourite had been interpreted by the software as him winning.

Perhaps they should get a human being to have a look at some point.

Adding AI to existing sofware is widely promoted as an upgrade. I don't see it like that.

[Stanley]

The much used phrase, 'The genie is out of the bottle' springs to mind. AI is openly encroaching on many areas of life and no doubt covertly in many others. I see that there is a widely available AI App to assist you to write 'better'. We have seen what screen culture has done to the attention span, how long before the ability to string words together and write a latter or an essay becomes a lost art?
I agree with you David, 'enhancing' existing apps and programmes with AI is interference not an upgrade.
Later at 05:00.... I am listening to a programme on R4 discussing the use of AI in 'publishing cookery books......

[Tripps]

'The genie is out of the bottle'

I think you're right. Google now tell me today, that I can add AI to my Google One subscription. That will not be happening. I pay about £15 per year for photo storage and retrieval, and I get my money's worth with that.

I've tested Chat GPT with a couple of questions (to which I had a good idea of the answer). I asked how many lives had been saved by use of public access defibrillators. I suspect the answer is close to zero.

The reply was as if from a politician, who wanted to conceal the truth. Much background information about what was supposed to happened, but where a number could be quoted in repy - none was forthcoming.

We have one nearby in an abandoned phone box,between two villages. The chances of someone having a cardiac event whilst passing are remote I'd say, and the procedure involves phoning, on your mobile, for a code number to access the equipment.

I think AI is company driven by FOMO - fear of missing out - and I'll lose little by not joining in.

[Stanley]

"and I'll lose little by not joining in"
I hope you're right David because that's what I am trying to do but of course am not in control of some applications.
I am reminded of a problem solving mantra I used very successfully for many years which included the question; "What will happen if I do nothing?" I recommend the approach on encountering many problems.
(I have a current example.... for weeks I have been bombarded by junk mail warning me that my 'webmail' was to be suspended. I have simply ignored them. In the end they seem to have given up. )

[Tripps]

Sir Keith Rodney Starmer has given a speech today praising AI and committimg his Government's support.

I detect that the direction of travel is for AI to take over many search functions where as I demonstrated above, pure facts with citation of origin are replaced by the AI spin doctors' version of events which they would prefer you to access. (Conspiracy anyone?)

Fortunately there are enough "awkward buggers" and anarchist types on the web to push against this initiative.

I think at a pinch we might include the site antichrist Elon Musk amongst the gang.

His company Spacex is hosting a rocket which will land on the moon next week and take some selfies at its South Pole. You wouldn't think he had the time for such trivialities, when he has Oldham Council and Jess Philips to deal with as well.

[Stanley]

Starmer sees AI as the 7th Cavalry coming over the hill..... (Does it remind you of Wilson's 'white heat of technology' speech?)
Include me out! This could be an enormous mistake.

[Big Kev]

It's no match for natural stupidity

[Tizer]

Spot on, Kev. Like fire, explosives, horseless carriages etc the outcome always depends on how they are used. The human species still needs a bit more development, it's a work in progress!

[Stanley]

Funnily enough, what came into my mind was the use of repeated expensive injections to lose weight which lose their power as soon as you stop them.
Or statins to lower BP.
Quick fixes are never a good idea and I think Starmer sees AI as just that.
(Remember the fate of the Eloi in Well's novel the Time Machine? The Morlocks ate them.... If humanity relies on AI to do its thinking won't it lose the power to do it for itself?)

[Tripps]

Take care with AI. this is from the Independent showing lawyers using AI for case law, and quoting entirely made up cases.
These were spotted - I wonder how many weren't - and we now have case law based on fiction.
Lawyers have cited fake cases generated by artificial intelligence in court proceedings in England, a judge has said — warning that attorneys could be prosecuted if they don’t check the accuracy of their research.

High Court justice Victoria Sharp said the misuse of AI has “serious implications for the administration of justice and public confidence in the justice system.” In the latest example of how judicial systems around the world are grappling with how to handle the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in court, Sharp and fellow judge Jeremy Johnson chastised lawyers in two recent cases in a ruling on Friday.

They were asked to rule after lower court judges raised concerns about “suspected use by lawyers of generative artificial intelligence tools to produce written legal arguments or witness statements which are not then checked,” leading to false information being put before the court.
In a ruling written by Sharp, the judges said that in a 90 million pound ($120 million) lawsuit over an alleged breach of a financing agreement involving the Qatar National Bank, a lawyer cited 18 cases that did not exist.

The client in the case, Hamad Al-Haroun, apologized for unintentionally misleading the court with false information produced by publicly available AI tools, and said he was responsible, rather than his solicitor Abid Hussain, but Sharp said it was “extraordinary that the lawyer was relying on the client for the accuracy of their legal research, rather than the other way around.”

In the other incident, a lawyer cited five fake cases in a tenant’s housing claim against the London Borough of Haringey. Barrister Sarah Forey denied using AI, but Sharp said she had “not provided to the court a coherent explanation for what happened.”

The judges referred the lawyers in both cases to their professional regulators, but did not take more serious action.
Sharp said providing false material as if it were genuine could be considered contempt of court or, in the “most egregious cases,” perverting the course of justice, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. She said in the judgment that AI is a “powerful technology” and a “useful tool” for the law. “Artificial intelligence is a tool that carries with it risks as well as opportunities,” the judge said. “Its use must take place therefore with an appropriate degree of oversight, and within a regulatory framework that ensures compliance with well-established professional and ethical standards if public confidence in the administration of justice is to be maintained.”

[Stanley]

"The judges referred the lawyers in both cases to their professional regulators, but did not take more serious action. "
That was a mistake, more punitive action would deter other lawyers from Using AI without proper checking. A slap on the wrist isn't enough.....

See THIS BBC report on latest tech moves....
Updated 9 hours ago
Major US tech firms have pledged tens of billions of pounds worth of investment in the UK, with Nvidia Jensen Huang, predicting the country will become an "AI superpower". The biggest single investment comes from Microsoft, which has announced a $30bn (£22bn) spending package - its largest ever outside the US. It is part of a £31bn agreement, dubbed the "Tech Prosperity Deal", between the UK government and several US tech giants as part of President Donald Trump's second state visit to the UK. "This is the week that I declare the UK will be an AI superpower," Mr Huang told BBC News. He said the UK had the expertise and research facilities to excel in AI, but "what's missing is the AI infrastructure," adding: "We are here to build it." AI relies on large banks of servers, run on computer chips like those made by Nvidia, to operate. Nvidia is partnering with British infrastructure company Nscale to build more such data centres in the UK, and Mr Huang said he had aspirations of "building an AI infrastructure company here in the UK, and then helping it scale out globally."
For better or worse, this raises the stakes exponentially. Not directly mentioned but the arrival of large quantum computers has a bearing on this development.