Well, that's southwestern Pa for you. The weather will trip you up everytime.
But it's also Monday, and my scheduled laundry day, so I knew I had to get my shower early and get my stuff down to the laundry room at 8am. These past couple weeks, I didn't get down there until 9:30 am and both times got a knock on my door from Janice up the hall at 9: "Hey Doug, are you done with your laundry time?"
Janice--that room is mine from 8am to noon so back off! Geez!
Anyway, I thought that before I got crackin' I'd send an email to my friend Pen (who lives near me), just to say good morning and how about this weather. I open my email, put "Chilly Monday" in the subject line and that infernal Copilot pops up and says "Would you like us to compose a draft for you?"
That damn Copilot, I keep going into settings and deactivating it and it keeps returning. Normally I say something like "Kiss my a--" or "Drop dead" or "I hate you" but I am in kind of a hurry, so I say "Sure."
It comes up with this:
It says "I hope your morning is off to a good start despite the chilly air! There's certainly a crispness outside today that makes a warm cup of coffee or tea even more inviting. Wishing you a cozy and productive start to your week--stay warm out there! Best, Doug
Now I was all prepared to roll my eyes and snort when this popped up, but I've known Pen since grade school (we grew up on neighboring farms) and she's a sweet person but kind of a square too. So I have a feeling she's really going to like this message. I went ahead and hit 'Send'.
But here's the thing: Pen may be a sweet square, but she's a smart cookie too. She graduated our class at the top of our class. She was elected Most Intelligent by her fellow students. So she may see thru this cyber-fluff, write back and say "Don't send me an AI generated message again."
If she does, I'll consider my foray into AI assisted writing as a failure and resume my neurotic, half mental blogs.
If she falls for this AI message and responds with something pleasant like "Good morning Doug! So nice to get a normal good morning from you" then I'll begin using AI to compose my future blogs.
Stay tuned! I'll post her reply if & when I get one. 😏
9:52 am - A response from Pen
I hope you have a great day as well. Yes, chilly today and perhaps a good day to make some chili. Ever hear of adding a bit of coffee to chili? I didn't until yesterday. It sounds strange, but I might try doing it if I decide to make some. Probably the last time I make any chili until fall/winter - just not my go to when we get warm weather. Take care.
Okay, it would appear that Pen did not see thru my AI ruse--she's not a suspicious person like myself and just assumes you're normal until told otherwise. But I've decided that I can't hand over the blogging reins to that infernal AI, so it looks like you're stuck with me! Have a great day everybody. 😉
Oh no! I saw the title of your post, and worried that you were giving up blogging! I know a blogger who uses AI to summarize what she has written. But Doug, AI would never be able to match your style and your wit. So hang in there, and please don't hand it off to AI🤞
ReplyDeleteCarole
Haha thank you Carole, much appreciated. I don't think Pen saw thru the AI message, but it's not my style! :^)
DeleteWhew. I feel like we dodged a bullet!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha--thank you Miss Merry, you're very kind!
DeleteYou scared me to death with this post title! I've accidentally had AI compose a comment or other text and it does such a ridiculously flowery job that it sounds nothing like me at all. However, there's a commenter on my blog that I think uses AI for comments; they sound too artificially perfect.
ReplyDeleteHaha thanks Margaret! Well, I agree about the obvious phoniness--but I did call Pen and told her about the AI message and everything, she did say she suspected something was "off", but chalked it up to my weird behavior :^)
DeleteOk - Pen here. I need to defend myself a bit. Doug and I talked at length on the phone this morning and he confessed to what he had done. Did I know it was AI generated? No, but I did think it was "off". It did not seem like him at all, but since an email he sent me last week had the subject line "A Fresh Start", I just figured Doug was going through some new phase of acting like he was Mr. Merry Sunshine and wondered how long that would last. So next time Mr. Morris sends me an AI generated email, I'll let AI respond. I'd rather have a Doug generated one. Nothing like the real deal.
ReplyDeleteHaha thank you Pen, I very much enjoyed our phone call and I sure am glad we're friends! 😊👍👍
DeleteYou had me worried too with that title! I am sick of AI. In Pen's defense, I will say it can be hard to detect in just a few sentences. Anyway, please don't even consider quitting or feeding us that AI slop because you have such a unique voice and such great stories, we'd be lost without you!🤗
ReplyDeleteThank you Bobi, I just got caught up in that AI foolishness this morning, I am very glad I've gotten to know and become friends with people like yourself. 🙂👍
DeleteI would miss your voice Doug if you let AI speak for you
ReplyDeleteI have been reading about changes in the Swedish education system- alarmed by the arrival of AI and other technologies, the Swedes are returning to teaching using actual books and seeking to use the computers less .
In other news , I bought a new car today - which should arrive next week
Siobhan
Thank you Siobhan, you're very kind. And that 8s great news about the Swedes, and even better news about yourself. Wow, I'm looking forward to hearing more about it. 👍👍🙂
DeleteI've used AI to write a response to a comment once (my comment wouldn't have been as polite), but like you there is a bit of ick feeling about using it. I'm sure most people who read my blog would realize the voice is nothing like mine.
ReplyDeleteHope Janice let you have all of your laundry time!
Thank you for sharing Maebeme, I feel like I'm always the last one to catch on with this stuff. Anyway, I think I would recognize your voice from ai right away. And yes, Janice finally stayed away long enough today let me do my laundry darn it!
DeleteDug, I like to use AI for research, but love writing... and wouldn't want it to write for me (even if it's writing was more grammatically correct and less off the cuff). Although I've read about how AI can look at your emails, etc. and get a feeling for how you think and write. Interesting, but also a bit scary.
ReplyDeleteSo, yes, you worried us with that title... I thought, "WHAT??"
Haha thank you Rian, I suppose that title was what they call "clickbait". Well, I am surprised to read you have experience with AI... this was my first time. And you know I am a big fan of your writing (both your blog and your comments) so I'm glad I get the real Rian with you. :^)
DeleteI would have let AI compose a comment (I’m sure others have thought of that too) but I don’t let AI anywhere near my ‘puter, so you’ll just have to put up with the real me.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the real you also.