How many great teachers have you ever had? I’m thinking of the rare individuals who not only expand your understanding of the world, but also inspire you. Most of us are lucky to have had one or two such teachers in our entire educational career. A tiny minority of teachers seems to be universally appreciated, blessed with a gift for connecting with virtually any student. But more often, a teacher…
I’m not sure how to say this without sounding like your high school English teacher, but when you let AI do the writing, you’re only cheating yourself. Yes, I know, writing is so much easier now that you don’t actually have to write. (Coming up with a “prompt” for an AI model isn’t writing.) But we’re making a Faustian bargain with the AI gods: in exchange for painlessly perfect prose, we’re…
Within moments of meeting new people, we size up what they’re like. Are they reserved or outgoing? Gruff or friendly? Psychologists call it “person perception,” and we do it automatically and mostly unconsciously. When we encounter AI that has human-like characteristics, we go through a similar process of person perception. And we quickly make inferences about the AI’s personality. As AI products…
I used to think that computers you could really talk to — out loud, in an actual conversation — were far in the future. But I’ve been amazed by the latest AI chatbots, which boast voices that sound incredibly human-like, and can understand and reply immediately. Voice AI isn’t the future anymore. It’s today. And it’s going to radically transform computers. Being able to discuss with the AI what…