AI...AI...AI!

 Okay, so back in the mid-1970s, LISP was the language of choice for creating AI applications.  Then, along came Prolog from Japan.  A computerized psychotherapist named Eliza dominated the AI talk for regular people.

AI couldn't do anything but give developers headaches back then.

Now, we have all this computing power sitting in warehouse-like buildings, heating up the landscape so much that you can almost see it in satellite images.  How is it useful?

We can ask for photo manipulations.  We can ask for essays to be written.  We can ask for a workout routine.

Microsoft has just introduced a new type of laptop computer with dedicated AI, including a keyboard key.  However, aren't they the people who put Cortana in the dustbin?  Aren't they the people who put Clippy in the dustbin?

I've no doubt that in 40 years, AI will be useful for the average person.  Right now, I can see people using AI to cheat.  AI can also help to detect when someone is cheating.

I could see people training AI to hack.  Imagine when hackers have been trying so many combinations that they haven't slept for a while.  If they could train AI to hack, they could give it a list of things to try using example after example, and they could sleep.

Android 15 and iOS 18 are coming with some AI enhancements.  We'll see what works.  If Siri worked better than Apple PlainTalk from 1998, I'd be impressed.  Google Assistant is better but isn't much more useful.

People are worried about Skynet-type AI and they are far too early.  When someone gets that level of AI to work, I'd be impressed but it's more likely that humanity will eliminate itself long before that happens.

Update 2024.07.16: It's odd to me to see all these headlines about ethics and AI.  I've seen people use other people's work for years without paying for its use, without even giving credit to the author.

Update 2024.07.24: I'm waiting for Apple to not fix security flaws on iOS 17 to get us to move to iOS 18, which will include AI in multiple doses.  Apple hasn't been getting the operating system features ready in time for the release, so they've been releasing something with basic features and adding what they promised in spurts.  I understood this during the pandemic.  People weren't as coordinated as they should have been.

 I've seen people from Apple, Google, HP, and other Silicon Valley-based companies coming to shop after their 3 hour commute.  They want their own house and things are less expensive out here.  Well, they were less expensive before they arrived.

In any case, they've got to get it together and build software that isn't full of mistakes.  You'd think that they could train AI to look for mistakes in their programming code and highlight them to be fixed.  That might be the best use of AI right now.

Update 2024.10.23: Just saw this Siri vs ChatGPT article claiming that Siri is two years behind ChatGPT.  I have to question that Siri is only two years behind ChatGPT.  Maybe, this is the latest they're testing and not the one most people are using because that one seems to be four to six years behind everything else.

Update 2025.01.27: I'm amused today.  A startup from China has taken the lead in AI processing.  DeepSeek is a name that came to light last week and has smashed the stock prices of the companies benefiting most from AI.

I was amused that they were talking about it running on Apple M2 Max machines, not Nvidia's finest or Intel.  Apple hasn't been too successful with AI software but their Neural Processing Unit has been good, apparently, very good.  What happens when the M4 Max arrives?

Update 2025.08.10: The day after DeepSeek arrived and their source code was posted, Grok became much better.  It's almost as if someone wasn't doing very well and borrowed someone else's work.

I bought an iPhone 15, which won't have the enhanced AI processing available.  The interesting thing is that it hasn't appeared for the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 models, either.  They've recently lost some people to Meta (Facebook/Instagram).  Since they collapsed their car software, they should have got the phone AI to work with such fine developers.

Every week, I hear about one model progressing, but I suspect you could call it "inching forward", instead of "leaps and bounds".

When the AI software can figure out what's wrong with the AI software.they will make progress. 

Update 2025.09.02: Elon Musk is complaining that Grok isn't getting a fair shake in the App Store in comparison to ChatGPT.  Does someone want an underachiever?

Browsing my Instagram feed, I've noticed loads of AI-generated videos and photos.  Those are great if you don't have an artist handy but they should be making things happen, not AI. 

Google Home Mini is a Useful Device

Back in October, Best Buy was having a huge sale on their Insignia speakers with Google Assistant.  I bought one for each of the two people who live in this apartment where I rent a room.

Sometime in December, he opened the package and got the speaker out.  She still has yet to open the box.

Thanksgiving Day, Target, where I work, had Google Home Mini speakers for half price--$24.99--as doorbusters for Black Thursday.  I ordered one and it was waiting for me when I clocked out.

It took a bit of configuring and unfortunately, there is no user-accessible battery unlike the Best Buy Insignia speakers, so if it comes unplugged, it doesn't work.  Thankfully, it retains settings and re-connects to the WiFi connection on its own.

From the beginning, I didn't have much luck with Siri in English (Japanese was better), but Google's speech recognition worked for me.  Google Assistant is fairly useful, but often tells me how it doesn't know how to do something.  What was disturbing is when I asked "Where is my package from Amazon?" and it told me.  When did I connect it to that information?  Who asked me?  How did this happen?  Thankfully, it can't go into my wishlist, but I should investigate all of the connections to the e-mail account.

It is especially interesting considering the effort to get Pandora and Spotify to work.  I haven't done a lot of talking to the speaker, except to start and end the music.  Occasionally, I request a certain playlist that I already added to my account.  Music playback is good, considering $24.99 and the compactness of the device.  In some ways, it reminds me of a Bose Wave Radio in that it can fill the room with music.  Vocals are good enough.  Bass is implied, not implemented.

One thing that would really help would be a connection to iHeartRadio, since I miss various radio stations across the country, especially WDAS 105.3 from Philly.  iHeartRadio is having financial troubles, so I'm not sure how they would make a deal.  (Yes, it can be used as a Bluetooth speaker, but it was a pain when I did that and I don't want to try again.)

I'm not sure that I would ever pay more than $24.99 for a speaker with an assistant.  Obviously, Apple's HomePod is too expensive at $350.00--you might as well just pay for the computer.

Google have changed the name to Nest Mini.  I'm not sure that helps but it does confuse.