Heuristic Algorithmic Computer or, as we more lovingly remember him, HAL was created by Arthur C Clarke in his book and Stanley Kubrick’s classic movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. I say HIM referring to HAL because even in the liberated 60s, women were having a hard time getting a good job in the tech world.

Every time I hear or read anything about Artificial Intelligence, I think the AI must really refer to Anti Intelligence. Surely, we have better uses for supercomputers than devising schemes to dupe would-be consumers into purchasing nonexistent products or helping a Nigerian Prince get his money out of Nigeria (which, to be fair, preceded AI).

Scarier attacks have surfaced, including scams to bilk you out of thousands of dollars by ransoming a loved one who phones you and sounds just like your child begging you to pay these people so that he or she can be released.

AI is used to create these voices that sound so real you would run to the bank to save your child. First, there was the Deep Fake that used trumped-up (sorry, couldn’t resist) videos of people doing and saying things that never happened. No wonder our nation has a hard time defining the truth.

Hal warned us that we were on the road to technical disaster, but we didn’t take heed.

After all, growing up in the 50s, we all believed that by 2001, there would be colonies on the moon and that a trip to Saturn or Jupiter would only require a transfer from the moon, much like transferring buses at West Farms in the Bronx from the 36 to the 20. Sadly, we are still waiting for the transfer.

Space travel and even Earth travel are much the same as they were in 1969 when we landed on the moon. If anything, Earth travel is worse as often the wait in the airport is longer than the flight you’re hoping to take.

Never thought about Deep Fakes or the horrors of AI; I mean, even Isaac Asimov had his Three Laws of Robotics in his I Robot series. The Cliff Notes version of Asimov’s laws simply states that Robots cannot injure a human or allow a human to be injured.

I realize that’s a lot of government regulation for some of you, but when AI strikes, you’ll wish there was a robotic McGruff Crime Dog to sic on the techno-miscreants.

Don’t get me wrong I still have great hope that AI can turn the corner and provide valuable service to a world teetering on collapse.

Re-creating circa 1980 ABBA holograms appearing live in concert is probably a good thing, well, better than a kidnapping ruse. And I might have resorted to ChatGPT when I had those three term papers due the same day when I was in junior year, but I think even my professors would have approved rather than reading the typo marred drivel I submitted for their reading pleasure. But no harm, no foul, as they say.

We just might be a little better off with less tech.

But then I would just be writing to myself (which just might be better for you all.)

Happy Saturday!