You know what really frosts my flakes?
Long-winded AI responses.
I never fully understood what “mansplaining” was until I encountered ChatGPT.
The other day, I made the mistake of thanking ChatGPT for helping me to solve a tech issue with my phone.
Rather than simply responding with “You’re welcome,” I got a 1,000-word recap if what the problem was, possible causes, why the ultimate solution was the best option, and what I can do if I encounter it again.
If you ask ChatGPT any question, you will need artificial intelligence to summarize the response in plain English. Otherwise, you’re scrolling through the equivalent of a government report to find the answer you initially asked.
It’s Google, but with better sources.
It’s even worse if I ask ChatGPT to fix a tech problem with a specific program even if I tell it I’m using Version 13.269. It summarizes the issue then gives me a 20-step process to correct it quickly.
Of course, I get lost on Step 3. So, I ask for clarification. But, that long-winded explanation doesn’t make sense either.
So, I send it a screenshot and ask it to show me where the option is located.
It thinks for a moment and responds with, “Oh, I see the problem now. You are using Version 13.269 and the setting moved to a new page.”
No kidding, Chatty? That’s why I gave you a specific version number at the start.
Ten minutes later, Step 3 finally works, but now I have to scroll up 10,000 lines to find out what to do next.
This fun continues for a few more hours. Every other simple step requires clarifying the Version number, sending screenshot and deciphering what ChatGPT promises is a “no fluff, accurate” answer.
I draw the line when ChatGPT wants me to change Windows core settings or the BIOS to fix a program that worked flawlessly for months until I started my inquiry a few hours ago.
Eventually, I surrender, shut down my computer and go to bed. But, I need to watch two comedies to settle my mind enough to fall asleep.
The next morning, I have an email from the software company apologizing for a glitch last night that caused problems for users, and explaining that it was fixed.
In the meantime, I had already made countless unnecessary changes to my computer, app and vocabulary to correct a problem that ChatGPT helpfully “fixed” with its endless, ineffective and often wrong mansplaining.
I suspect I will discover the ramifications of those changes when something else stops working in a few days.
I’m Grandpa Grumpy and it is truly scary how many important tasks and business decisions are being made with “helpful” advice or instructions from artificial intelligence today.