My sense of direction is as dependable as a politician’s promise. I use Waze even for my daily drive to the office.
Friends used to joke that GPS stood for ‘Graig Pasti Sesat’ (Graig will get lost), even if I used Google Maps. These days, I have opted for Waze, as it is more accurate – as last week’s Diary showed.
On Thursday night, due to a miscommunication, I rushed to a meeting in Shah Alam, Selangor. I had no idea where the venue was and used the link provided – via Google Maps. It took me to an industrial area.
Luckily, the ‘miscommunication’ part meant that I was 12 hours ahead of schedule, as the meeting was for 10.30am on Friday, and not 10.30pm, Thursday!
On Friday, using Waze, it was easy to find Amanah’s office in Shah Alam, where my colleague Haresh Deol, and I, met Kuala Lumpur FA president Khalid Abdul Samad.
I would be lost without Waze and its artificial intelligence (AI).
Recently, I opted to use Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice as the Terminator for Waze.
One of the phrases it uses is: “The more contact I have with humans, the more I learn.” How true that is turning out to be!
Others include “Make a U-turn, this is a mission priority”, “I am looking for Sarah Connor, but we can go to your destination first”, and my favourite – “You have arrived. Hasta la vista, baby”.
I bring this up as there are many discussions on my social media pages on how ChatGPT and other AI apps will eventually replace humans.
Of course, I would be a fool – some say, there is no doubt about that – not to have some worries, but I sincerely believe the human touch makes articles better.
Writer and editor Brigitte Rozario recently wrote on LinkedIn that “ChatGPT is a tool for us to use, not abuse. Importantly, it should not be a threat to writers and editors.”
She said writers and editors need to be more confident of their value as they would always be in demand because they can think and analyse.
“You understand nuances and emotions. You can read between the lines, spot a frown and know something’s off. You can trust your gut feeling. You can smell that rat. Yes, all those clichés,” wrote Rozario.
“We should use these AIs to help us with our work. Artificial intelligence (what an oxymoron) is there to help humans. We should learn to co-exist with these apps and use them to help us.”
She said the writing and rephrasing apps could be for minor rewrites or short passages that require no thinking. That would leave manpower to do the “real in-depth writing”.
“If an AI app can save my time, why wouldn’t I use it as a tool? Of course, it should never be used to plagiarise and cheat.”
Many people use word processing software on their devices to write articles. These software use AI algorithms to check spelling and grammar, and detect American English instead of British English.
AI is already in our lives. What is one more?
ChatGPT and others remind me of a famous quote from ‘The Terminator’: “I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do.”
GINGERBREAD LATTE
Although touted as a ‘winter drink’, this warming recipe is just right to heat up your Valentine’s Day date.
FAREWELL, BURT BACHARACH
Legendary composer, songwriter, record producer, and singer Burt Bacharach, died on Feb 8. He was 94.
The prolific American started his career in 1950 and was active until his death.
One of his earliest hits was for Perry Como – ‘Magic Moments’ – released in 1957. It is a beautiful love song and one of my favourites, and it ends this week’s Diary.
Until next week, stay safe.
