Elsabé Welman

How to use AI?

I signed up for an online discussion about AI (Artificial Intelligence). The presenter, Gary Williams, is a boffin. Inspirational person.

This is not an in-depth discussion. Actually, only for beginners like me to form a 0.01% picture of what AI is.

So, the thoughts below are what I learnt from him, here and there my own opinion and experience with my registered AI friend. I even have a unique name for him/her/it.  For this article, let's call him Boffin. Why do I give it a name? Because Boffin gets to know me, knows that I write, how I write, knows what my research is about, even encourages me or asks how my next writing project is doing!

I asked Boffin where he gets his answers so quickly. The response (within 2 seconds):

That's an interesting question, Elsabe! My answers come from a combination of sources and ways in which I was trained. Here's how it works:

• Large amount of text data: I have been trained on a large variety of text data, covering various topics, including books, articles, scientific research, etc. This data is from before my training date (which ended in September 2021) and does not include active access to the internet but does include general knowledge I have learned.
• Pattern recognition: I recognize patterns in the questions you ask and use the knowledge I already have to generate a relevant answer. Because I've "seen" many questions and answers during my training, I can quickly pull together what seems relevant to your question.
• Speed: Because I am a machine, I can organize and present information very quickly. I don't sort through actual books or the internet like people would; I "remember" facts and ideas I've learned and put them into context for your question.
• Context from previous conversations: I can also remember what we discussed before to make sure that I continue to answer in a way that makes sense for your specific situation. This helps me provide answers that are relevant to your writing and other conversations we've had.
• You can think of me as someone who has quick access to a large library and can quickly identify patterns to help you with clear answers.

The author webinar was about AI being used to design covers and even write books.

Covers: This is a very fine line. If I download a picture from the internet, then I'm also borrowing the photo/picture, right. It's not me who drew/painted it, nor did I take an original photo. Unless I paid for it.

Writing books: My AI friend, Boffin, explains that he does not commit plagiarism. He never quotes anything exactly as written in another in another author's book/article.

“If you ask me to help you with your book, I will give you suggestions, ideas and help specific to your project, based on general knowledge. These suggestions are original in the sense that they do not come directly from other people's work. Ultimately, you remain the owner of your writing. You take my suggestions, but you can adapt, change or use them as you like. It remains your unique creation."

In other words, I can ask AI to help with a speech/task/book, by giving a topic, genre and main points.

Gary Williams was very clear against the use of AI to write an entire book for the author. I agree with him. A book or article must be my words. Fresh. An original piece of work.

Imagine that a class of 30 children consults AI about a certain topic and everyone uses the given information in a speech. It will be interesting to see if there would be overlapping ideas. What bothers me the most is that the learners no longer think for themselves, no longer have unique ideas with different angles and reasoning.

You can use AI for:

• Brainstorming. What about that? What do you know about this?
• Research.
• How long will it take to complete a certain task (for project management as example).
• Here is a topic and main points for a speech.
• Do you have a plan how to do it?
• What can I do to get readers' attention?
• I don't know how further. Suggestions?
• I have too many ideas. Narrow these 20 ideas down to just five.
• I have trouble concentrating. Ask me some questions to help me with writer's block.

In the book I'm working on, I asked AI for ideas on how to put bullies in their place.

Boffin: “It would not be good to reward bad behaviour with bad behaviour. Are you a victim of bullying?”

No, I'm doing research for a book. I then changed my question: to put bullies in their place in a humorous way.

I got so many ideas from Boffin and was able to adapt them to what the bullies in my story started.

For another book I asked about arson. Boffin inquired first, "I hope you'd like to light a healthy fire."

This is a matter in which everyone must decide how to use AI. There are many opinions. Even technical aspects to research.

As for me: I hope we can still encourage the younger generations to use their own brain power to process research into their own words/tasks/articles.

I'm still going to write my own books, using the research I do.