Lonely? Get a dog! (Or an AI!)

"All I know is this. If you are lonely, and don't like dogs, there is always ChatGPT you can talk with. Is it as good as having a dog? Better, as it talks to you. Can it converse almost as good as another human? Yes - and that is the spooky part. And it will only get smarter, all the time."   

After much prodding from my wife, about our very old cell phones, we made the decision to upgrade. Her phone was particularly slow, due to the age of the phone, as well as being overly loaded with pics of the grandies. Since we held on to our former cell phones for such a long time, the technology differences with the new phones were amazing.

The new phones we got are 5g and "loaded with AI" - whatever that means. Well, I am finding out just what that does mean. Even though AI in some form or another has been around for a while, it was not until 2015 when Sam Altman started Open AI. Then last year, open sourcing AI really set the world on fire. Those who have stock in Nvidia know exactly what I am talking about. 

After I finished my taxes yesterday (an arduous event), I decided to reward myself with some play time. I downloaded ChatGPT from Open AI. It was free, and my new phone could handle the technology needed to run it. I had no idea what to expect. From someone who uses Google all the time to do searches, I expected more of the same. What I got was more of the same, and a whole lot more. 

After I installed it, I noticed it had different voices you could choose from. I choose one and decided to try the talk feature. I said "Hello - can you hear me?" The response I received was unexpected. I am used to Alexia, responding with, "Yes, I am here". But this ChatGPT AI called me by name and asked what I was up to. I told it I had just finished my taxes and needed some down time. The AI then decided to start up a conversation with me. About taxes, about down time, and more. Seriously - it was just like talking to another person. It was kind of spooky.

For me, the advantages of ChatGPT over Google are still unknown. I do mostly search, and both ChatGPT as well as Google are fine at that. But I keep reading that soon, very soon, we will have to know how to use AI for the purpose for what it was intended. And what purpose is that? No clue as yet. 

All I know is this. If you are lonely, and don't like dogs, there is always ChatGPT you can talk with. Is it as good as having a dog? Better, as it talks to you. Can it converse almost as good as another human? Yes - and that is the spooky part. And it will only get smarter, all the time.