What That Says About Us

This is #56 in a series of month-end reflections on the state of the world, and other things that come to mind, as I walk and hike in my local community. Two teenagers, possibly a younger brother and older sister, are sitting opposite each other at the café at the table beside mine. They are playing a game of chess, on his phone screen and on her laptop screen. Their ‘moves’ are thoughtful, probably longer than the ‘timer’ on a serious chess tournament game would permit. I can’t resist asking them, trying not to interrupt their concentration, if they’re really playing against each other. “Yes”, they tell me, “but we’re using different AI assistants”. What?! What’s the point of using an AI ‘assistant’? It’s then just two AI bots playing against each other, no? Not at all, they tell me. The ‘assistants’ provide each of them with a choice of two or three possible moves, and explain the ‘thought process’ behind each choice. So they’re learning why certain moves are optimal, and that…