What Matters to You – Decline of Common Sense and the Rise of the Robota

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It’s a strange title, but hear me out on this one.  I believe we have reached a state where common sense is in such a state of decline and that far too many people have become dependent on their devices and apps to make it through everyday life.  Perhaps it’s a generational thing, as I’m now at the ripe old age of 51 and may have tipped over the threshold where I can be a “Grumpy Old Man,” boy I hope that is not the case, but observations over the last few months have really begun to concern me.

“The machine closed 3 min ago”

“So sorry, I won’t print you a ticket because the machine closed 3 min ago. Have you tried doing it online? Just call customer service, or you can wait for us to return. No, I won’t call my supervisor. They are not here with me right now, and I’d have to use the radio or phone to reach them.” Literally, these are the responses from a “Younger” ticket agent….no ability or want to help a customer (me) to catch their flight by being a person. The airlines had their online, third-party provider go down errors right across the board, so no advance check-in, delays at the airport for construction, and a few other items put me 3 min behind the time the “system” would allow for a self-serve boarding pass to be printed. The person… flesh and blood, may have as well been a robot. Old days… Print a boarding pass, get you through customs, and sort it out at the boarding gate for seat assignment. With 57 min to spare…

After the agent walked away without saying another word, I waited with three other families on hold with the elusive customer service “hot Line” for over 2 hours, two and a half hours for the ticket agent to return to no avail… great customer service. I missed my flight, and with all the “System Errors,” no alternate flights were available. Heaven forbid something called life happens and knocks your programmed machines out of balance. The tools we made to help us are now in control of a number of the younger generation.

“Wrong location”

Landing in Vancouver, grabbing an Uber, heading to a location that was copied from a real address into the “App,” confirming the place with the driver and still being driven to an incorrect address. Right name, right address…. wrong location. Well, the App says I need to drop you off in a back alley with tons of gang tags, obvious drug paraphernalia, and street crime. “Yeah, well, I don’t care what your app says, brother. I’m not getting out, so unless you want to let me drive, I suggest you take me to the right location….” I should have cancelled the trip at the onset, as the driver could not describe where his “Designated” pickup area was at the airport…. on the “App” it does not show elevated platforms vs street level platforms….communication is difficult….they are not able to describe real-life landmarks, they look at the app.

Robota among us or us among Robota?

The Georgian cab driver I met in Berlin said it perfectly: they are “Robota.”

Several small US legislators and groups from the Council of State I know that I was always taught to double-check and always run my calculations at least twice, sometimes backward, to ensure the solution I came up with was correct and that the equation was balanced. That and I was told by a computer engineer more than 20 years ago that there is not a single piece of flawless software. It’s a perfect dance of imperfection, and the bugs are fixed continually post-launch. Reassuring, isn’t it? “Dave, what are you doing, Dave?” for those old enough to remember that movie.

AI: bye-bye teenagehood, hello Einstein

Now, the next rant, wrinkle or insight, AI.  It is not artificial insemination for my farm families, but the other AI, artificial intelligence.  Now, I had the heck scared out of me down in Oregon. In one of the lunch sessions, we were given an amazing update from the leader of a think tank, an analyst, and a forecaster, as it were.  The lady ran us through an update of where we were, what we thought then, how far and how fast AI would become, where we are today and where we think it could be 10 years from now.  Basically, it was as smart as a toddler several years ago; we thought it would be as smart as a preschooler about now, when in fact, it is as smart at least as a 17-year-old.  The thought is it will be Einstein level in 10…. or sooner?

Oh, so cheap and efficient: more uses for human brain

Now, let’s see what kind of Apps old Einstein could dream up in an AI form, but perhaps without a state of conscience.  One of the limiting factors recognized that could slow AI growth is the literal power required to run it.  Electricity demands for all this computing are putting a strain, but since we are innovative, no worries; how about modifying how we run computers?  They wondered what the most efficient computer is. Maybe we could look at that, and it would give us an idea of the next generation of computing.  You would be wrong if you were thinking about quantum computing (like I did).  Our Human Brain was the inspiration.  A virtual supercomputer that needs hardly any energy to run compared to our current computers.  So, what’s the logical next step? Of course, put brain cells in a petri dish and hook them into a circuit.

This is not future stuff, as I was shocked to find out this is already happening. For only $500 per month, you can rent space on the human brain cell petri dish computer in Switzerland to run your massive computational calculations for AI.

Did no one watch Terminator? No wonder Elon Musk warned as many as he could about needing guard rails, a policy on advancing AI.

Last, but not in the least

I honestly am a bit concerned about several advancements, especially if we become dependent on software to make decisions for us. Too many people are becoming dependent on what the screen says. Take a second look, and do some old-fashioned things, like read a paper map. Remember some phone numbers, double-check, override, and break out a dictionary. Don’t become one of the Robota. We are not going to stop the advancement, but we sure as heck should be using our conscience, our souls, and our critical thinking to take a sober pause to think to ourselves, “Is that Right?” and for the love of Pete, take the time to be human again. Long live common sense, mud, sweat, tears, skinned knees, banged knuckles, fresh air, and farm kids. It may just be what saves our corner of the world.

And I’ll, also, keep caring about “what matters to you”!

Sincerely,

Shane Getson

Useful links:

https://www.sciencealert.com/swiss-startup-connects-16-human-mini-brains-to-create-low-energy-biocomputer

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/worlds-first-living-computer-switzerland