It’s the Truth

I have to admit it – I’m a’scared of artificial intelligence (AI). Just this week I heard on the radio that Apple is planning to work with Google to bring more “features” to the iPhone (of which I’m a user). Apparently Siri isn’t cool enough and doesn’t learn what features its users want. 

Doing a search on the internet (which provides a response that is an “AI overview”) Apple’s Siri and Google’s Gemini have different primary functions. 

“Siri is strong in on-device integration and privacy while Gemini excels in generative AI, multimodal understanding and web-based knowledge,” the AI generated response states.

I’ll admit that I really don’t know what that all means. I do know, however, that if I talk to Steve about – oh, I don’t know – vacations in Greece (for example) I’ll be deluged with Grecian getaways. I do believe that my phone listens and responds to me. That is one reason why I don’t have a voice-activated “assistant” (e.g., Alexa) in my house. I believe that the device is listening to me 100% of the time, which creeps me out.

However, I do have “smart TVs” in the house. Unlike the old consoles that are pretty much obsolete, many of these smart TVs are equipped with a microphone and camera and track what is watched. I understand though there are ways to disable this “feature.” Makes me kind of long for the days of the TV stand …

Do you remember those? When I was a kid I had a TV stand in my bedroom that had space below it for my records (my record player was on a shelf nearby). My TV was a big old black & white that had to “warm up” before broadcasting.

And speaking of broadcasting, do you remember when TV programs went off the air around midnight/1 a.m./2 a.m.? We’d see a picture of the American flag flying while “The Star-Spangled Banner” played then a test pattern came onto the screen signaling the end of broadcast television. Sometimes there would be noisy static rather than a displayed test pattern (as an aside, that entire scenario can be seen in the movie “Poltergeist”). 

Growing up in Sun Valley, we had a television that was “in the wall.” It was perched in the wall hidden behind shutters. It was small but, being “in the wall,” easily seen by everyone in the room. One year we bought a new television for my mom, presenting her with a remote control as a signal of what we bought.

I remember she looked at it then said, “Why did you buy me a calculator?” We had to show her the TV. Back then remotes were “c’est chic.”

I wonder what she’d say today … and what would be listening.