Hi Everyone,
AI? Artificial intelligence? Did I just put you to sleep? I could almost put myself to sleep, except for my very real, recent AI shopping experience.
Where to begin? Almost ten years ago, when fellow mums were preparing their sons for entry into senior schools, one mum was beside herself about AI, or at least her young son’s obsession with it. AI, I
thought then, yes, ho-hum, STEM, the future. Around this time my family watched an “old” Spielberg movie entitled A.I. about an android child programmed with the ability to love who ends up at the bottom of the sea adoring an angel-like figure. Two millennia later he is found by other androids and reunites briefly with his human mother (brought back to life for a mere 24 hours). A sci-fi tearjerker
all round.
Since then, AI adoption has driven the stock market by going from a niche tool to a foundational technology capable of enhancing production and innovation. Its market is projected to grow to $4.8 trillion by 2033, according to UN Trade and Development (as well as Google’s AI Overview,
which footnotes 18 sources).
As any writer today knows, Google has been one of the most successful adapters of AI into its search tools. When Googling an odd fact, we’re now offered “All” or “AI Mode”. Personally, I find the tools fun, and I believe there is a way to adapt the richness of the information to original creativity, while being cautious of the risks of AI misinformation.
Recently my son mentioned writing a story with AI. Using ChatGPT, while I finished preparing dinner, he entered his choice of information: medieval, monks, crusade, rivals, fight to the death. When asked for a synopsis, AI spat out a fully believable, read-it-to-the-end synopsis. When asked for a scene breakout, AI delivered. Within another few minutes (I had stopped chopping by this time) we asked for a 60-minute TV script for episode one of an eight episode series. Beautifully formatted, complete with barking dogs and other medieval cues, the teleplay arrived whole while I stood astounded. Whereas my son grew bored and went off to watch Chelsea play on TV, I started chopping again, much more slowly and with a measured cadence.
What had I just witnessed? A technology incapable of being snubbed. If it can “rewrite” my profession, it’s not hard to imagine what it might do with many, many others. What a tool!
This past week, as I got ready for an Easter visit to Nice, I Googled the weather as usual. “Mild, spring-like conditions with pleasant daytime temperatures and cooler evenings.” When offered a “deeper dive”, I thought, with medieval dogs still barking in the back of my mind, OK, why not? I received temperature and sky conditions, what to expect in the vicinity of my hotel and packing ideas from
layers to footwear (specific for my visit to the Old Town). Then, both wanting to one-up Google (which couldn’t possibly get this right, I thought) and to see if it might actually work, I asked for a one-day shopping itinerary in Oxford to find all these “recommended” packing ideas.
The AI-generated one-day shopping itinerary came back as easily as my son’s teleplay. A lovely day unfolded, beginning at 10am at Westgate Oxford (to visit John Lewis) for “The Essentials” – swimwear, linen trousers and Breton striped tops. Then at 11:30am, MINOX Boutique (Luxury Designer), which I
never knew existed, to source my Toteme trench coat, The Row separates and silk dresses. At 1:00pm l was meant to have lunch on the High Street, and at 2:00pm visit the High Street boutiques (for “Feminine chic”): Anthropologie, where I would find unique midi dresses, and Whistles for smart-casual separates and business-ready silk blouses. At 3:30pm I was to go for my Tech and Final Touches (Bose
QuietComfort Ultra noise cancelling headphones). Then at 5:00pm I would enjoy an Afternoon Tea or Drink to celebrate my successful shop at the Westgate Roof Terrace for a view over Oxford’s “dreaming spires”.
Perfect, I thought, as – itinerary in hand – I made my way through central Oxford, a place I have known for 15 years…and found myself in shops seeking items I never knew existed. It was a bit of a game to see how well Google panned out, and while there was misinformation – a shop no
longer open – and the unfathomable – a Toteme trench coat in my size left behind by a customer who’d failed to collect at the exact shop as specified – it was a brave and tenuous world: letting technology do my thinking for me?
What I enjoyed most was the “game play” and allowing my ingenuity to be enlarged and yet at the same time holding the reins, buying the blazer I preferred, as well as the cashmere wrap, and choosing the restaurant for lunch and tea, yet knowing I would never have stopped to eat, if Google’s itinerary had not suggested it.
So this April, if you have not already, I suggest you tap literally anything into Google’s AI deeper dive. Proceed with caution, let your mum know where you are going, but by all means go, hand in hand. AI has a lot to reveal.
Love,
Image by MidJourney