KAUTZ.blog

Category: Blogging

  • Thoughts on AI

    Thoughts on AI

    There has been a lot of fuss about Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in personal computing. A lot more fuss from all the AI “SLOP” (as it is now known) flooding the internet. Microsoft is getting the most slop fuss as the new Windows11 AI “Co-Pilot” (CP) tries to take total control of personal thought.

    I totally dislike Co-Pilot (CP) and have everything I can find turned OFF in my Windows11 OS. There is no “Master Off Switch” so I had to dig deep into the WIN11 set-up to discover where CP is hiding.

    CP may still pop up in Microsoft Applications that are beyond the Operating System (OS), so I will have to deal with them when they appear.

    I have no objection to AI when I explicitly request the process. It’s a very useful tool for many repetitive tasks. I DO NOT like to be constantly interrupted by the computer OS, with suggestions and help I don’t request. It quickly becomes a distraction rather than an assist.

    I can’t help but have an overall uneasiness where all the implementation of AI is headed. This is because it is getting much more difficult to determine what is real human effort and true natural experience of not having AI involved.

    I believe there will soon be a ban on video evidence in legal applications unless there is a way to absolutely beyond ANY doubt certify it was not generated or even altered by AI. There used to be a quote “Video never lies”, but that was never absolute. A bug on the lens of a video camera is often promoted as “proof” a ghost walked across the scene. That won’t “hold up” in court (I hope…).

    The Internet Search function is entirely a form of AI. But no longer does it simply search. It now reads enough to compose its own version of what others have posted, true or not. The problem is the “TRUE OR NOT”

    As far as personal computing (which BTW is now quite far from PERSONAL), I would like to have control, if I want or don’t want assistance from AI. And the “normal” start condition is “OFF”.

    I also want the authorship of anything published fully disclosed. Especially if it involves any type of AI assistance.

    What I want doesn’t carry much weight. But if say… a million more folks want the same; Maybe the boys in charge of computer operating systems sales and revenue will take notice.

    Meantime, I do have alternatives. Writing this on a Linux computer is one of them.

  • Path Traveled

    Path Traveled

    Just passed my 79 birthday. I remember when I was a kid* trying to imagine what this age (near 80) would be like. 80 year olds were kinda rare back then. * Probably in the mid 1950’s

    Don’t have to imagine. Now I can live it. That’s better than the alternative and I am happy I can say that. There is still a path ahead, so my plan is to keep following it as long as I am able.

    Now fully retired from vocational income production, I spend all my time on the avocational side to life. Enjoying whatever I like with no concern that I must produce a life sustaining income from what it is I am doing. I don’t think I fully understood that future as a youngster.

    I actually enjoyed my several flavors of chosen vocations and it was never a desire to retire from what I was doing “for a living.” Ha! To me my life’s work was never “just a job” I totally looked forward to each and every day.

    My last vocational employer decided (several years after standard retirement age) that “older employees” were a possible financial health cost risk. That’s how it is with big non-personal corporations.  It’s all bottom line. So I was gently permitted with adequate notice to switch to my purely avocational interests full time.

    It was a good move. Sad to leave my professional position, but I soon adjusted to being totally my own boss again. I have held that “own boss” position (or a “flavor” of it) many times in my career(s).

    Spouse Gloria, may make exception for my total boss claim. We have been legal partners for 57 years, so we share decisions at home. 

    Gloria still has a church pianist (paying) position and piano students, so she is technically not 100% retired. Since neither “jobs” require all her time, she has a lot of hobby time for sewing quilts. Quilting folks are a whole n’other culture of their own. Fun times for her!

    My Hobbies are electronically technical. Ham radio, computers, and machines controlled by computers. Also workshop detailed crafting work like lost-wax metal casting, machine tools metal work, and heavy into 3D plastic printing.

    Also a lot of Internet web blogging (like this one) about all my hobby activities, Is a hobby itself.

    I “put up” many blogs and internet sites “Just because I can.” It’s a technical challenge. Actually, not all that hard these days. My original web sites were all written in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) Almost like computer programming with DOS in the early days. Now it’s Structured Query Language (SQL) and use of attached data base systems. 

    WordPress, Joomla, Drupal are examples of packaged blogging software systems. All Independent Service Providers (ISP) provide necessary hardware and software and help. An ISP provides access to the internet for a service charge.

    Well, that’s how I got to posting this. A creative exercise. Just blabbing (or it’s called “blogging”. CUL  ~ Dan