There used to be an ad campaign for recording tape manufactured by Memorex. The ad compared live sound verses sound recorded on Memorex tape. A singer could break a glass with their voice, so Memorex “proved” their product was so good, the recorded voice of the singer would also break the glass.
I used that tape brand, but I never broke any glasses, just my eardrums.
The line between real and artificial is so fine now that we almost have to question everything. What can’t be faked, duplicated, recreated, cloned or replicated?
There are several issues here. The replacement of humans by technology or artificial means, and the difficulty in telling what is real from those things that have replaced reality. As consumers, we are getting less and less opportunity to choose whether we engage AI or can be connected to a real person. That’s been coming for many years as call centers and online portals have taken over. Now, consumers are pushed to dealing with the company website or app for most things, and you can be charged for wanting to talk to a customer service rep. What the heck?
So, who benefits from machines and computers that can build, take payments, triage your problem, schedule appointments, and perform complex tasks? It might be you, but it’s really the bosses and shareholders. The greatest savings, labor costs. All the way back to the Industrial Revolution…no, further back. The invention of the printing press. Way, way back. Maybe it was the wheel, making it easier to transport things, and people. Perhaps that invention was the first time workers were replaced and jobs eliminated.
I’m out of my depth talking about Artificial Intelligence. My Artificial Intelligence Quotient is low. AI is scary, and the forces behind AI are even scarier. Think SkyNet or HAL 9000. “Hello Dave.”
I’m not anti AI, but I’m cautious about this tidal wave of technology that most people don’t understand and didn’t ask for, changes so much of our lives.
Yesterday, I was a participated in a financial briefing with a senior executive with a large wealth management firm. Most of his global analysis was over my head, but in his annual review of different markets, the Artificial Intelligence sector was red-hot. So much money was being plowed in AI development, that investors were anxious for the shift to AI as profit generator. Show me the money.
I got to thinking that the future is really here now. All of those sci-fi films of the 1970s are just outside the front door, the dystopian universe is…
…Sorry, my head just blew up. Thankfully, I recorded it, so if you want to see it, you can purchase a digital download. Just don’t have any glassware close by.
Is it real, or is it AI? Soon, we probably won’t know.
Ticket 2 Ride 
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