This is how we use AI (and this is what we don't like)

Writer: Helena Bergström

AI has quickly become a part of everyday life for most of us - whether we consciously use it or indirectly benefit from things created with the help of AI. Things have really moved fast! Let's talk about how we use AI... and what we don't like.

AI is a broad concept

Let's start by recognising that AI, or artificial intelligence, is a broad concept. There are many different types of AI with different specialisations.

A common variety is the so-called language models (LLM, Large Language Models), which are trained on large amounts of text and can understand and generate language - for example, answer questions, write texts or summarise information. This type is relatively common to use at home, for example in the form of Chat GPT or AI Overviews (AI mode in Google Search).

Other types of AI are built for completely different tasks, such as recognising faces in images, optimising logistics, detecting fraud or controlling self-driving vehicles. Regardless, it is clear that AI suddenly exists everywhere …

How we use AI

We use AI quite a lot, and the other day we even said to each other that ... ”How did we manage without this before?”. It's amazing how quickly you can change your habits. Well, here are some ways we use AI:

Technical assistance and support

This is probably the most magical thing! Whenever we have a technical problem - whether it's with our computer, TV, drone, motorhome or home alarm - we ask Chat GPT to take us through the problem step by step, in plain English. Absolutely invaluable!

Searching for information

We use both Chat GPT and Google to search for information. Sometimes I find that AI can provide a faster overview of complex questions (eg ”Which shipping companies drive to Corsica?”) while in step 2 I want to google and check each shipping company separately, via their respective websites.

No matter how you search for information, it is always important to fact-check and double-check. If you use AI, you need to check the information in different ways, such as ”Is this really true?”, ”Can you double-check again?” or ”What are your sources for this information?”

Brainstorming ideas

I sometimes use Chat GPT to bounce ideas and thoughts around. It can be about development ideas for the site, or challenges we feel we are facing. I can describe what I am thinking about and get different suggestions and ideas. Useful!

Creating images (if necessary)

We mostly use our own photos on the site, which we sometimes supplement with photos from free image banks. In some cases, I can't find an image I need, and we may use AI to create an image (which we obviously label below the image so it's clear).

What we don't like about AI

While we love some aspects of AI, and while we benefit greatly from artificial intelligence in our everyday lives, we are not entirely in favour.

AI is an assistant - but also a competitor

It is sometimes said that ”AI shouldn't take your job - it's an assistant that can help you do the job”, but that is a truth with modification. Some jobs will definitely disappear, when the tasks can be solved by AI.

For anyone creating digital publications, AI also becomes a kind of competitor. When people use Chat GPT instead of Googling, they get the answer directly in the chat, without ”having” to click in with the person who produced the text. As a content creator, this feels unfair, and in the long run it leads to digital newspapers and magazines being forced out of business.

Another type of competition is that anyone can suddenly produce a rich and informative text in two seconds. AI-generated texts on the internet obviously mean competition for us human writers...

You don't know what is ”real”

AI-generated content (whether images, films or texts) can often be very good and very similar to what is created by humans. How do you know what's real?

One problem is that people are tricked into believing things that are not true. Another problem is that, when people become suspicious of most of what they see, they don't really know what to read or watch anymore. Because what can you really trust?

It's a bit scary after all...

Developments in AI are in some ways amazing and fascinating, but they are also a little scary. When ”Moltbook” (an online forum where AI agents can chat to each other, and humans are only welcome as spectators) appeared recently, many people probably choked.

Admittedly, those in the know say that the robots' discussions (which in some cases are about humanity being wiped out or the robots planning their own religions/currencies/languages/secret rooms) should be taken with a pinch of salt, as it may be humans who have given input to these threads, rather than the robots making it all up on their own. But still ...

Perhaps it is not so the ”Terminator” is behind the door, but the question is whether we humans can judge where all this is going ...?

What are your thoughts on AI?

What are your thoughts on AI? How do you use AI? What do you like, and what do you not like? What do you think will happen in the future...?