The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

My garden awaits Spring, and I am back from my trip to Los Angeles. Daniel worked diligently to assemble the new patio furniture and did a great job. So, what should I write about now? Daniel suggested (jokingly) I ask ChatGpt to write this week's column.

The Microsoft program is one of the hot topics in the news lately, so maybe it's time to learn more about artificial intelligence. I am fairly "tech savvy." I am as good as most, better than many, and not nearly as good as the very young.

What seems like a century ago, I dated a gentleman with two teenage boys who were fascinated by computers. They had tired of playing "Pac-Man" in arcades (I did say a century ago) and discovered a computer version of "Dungeons and Dragons." To play, they needed to save their money to buy a personal computer.

They convinced me I also needed a computer, and I agreed one would be a great addition to my life. I hustled down to the store and purchased an IBM XT. I had to learn Microsoft DOS, the computer's language. Microsoft was still developing its programs, and the digital future was off the radar for us common folk.

A few months later, my cousin allowed me to install a newly released program onto my computer. With eager anticipation, I commanded, "copy A: to B." I was majorly disappointed when I realized the program was only a digital clock. It filled the entire screen, and I don't remember if I could toggle back and forth from a twelve-hour to a twenty-four-hour format or even change the time zone. Oh, how I yearned for a blueberry iMAC.

From portable to self-correcting typewriters and laptops with spell check, the technology has grown exponentially. Historically, I have embraced the changes and celebrated the new programs and technology. Now, for the first time, I'm a little skeptical about AI and ChatGpt.

Admittedly, I haven't done much research about this new technology's capabilities. I am working off "sound bites" from the news and social media, and tidbits I've read. The latter were probably written by a ChatGpt. The program has written college theses, medical reports, newspaper articles, and literature in a specific author's style.

Mr. Chat can write all the fiction it wants; however, I'd like to think my doctor was the one updating my medical files, prescribing my medicines, and speaking to me on our telehealth appointments.

I have decided it's time to experiment and maybe have a little tech fun. Next week (if I find the time between work and taxes), I will ask ChatGpt to write an article for The Times in the style of Vicki Sternfeld-Rossi. I'll see how it goes, and if it's good, I will submit it to the editor. I promise to provide complete transparency and full disclosure as to who, or what really wrote it.