AI & AA

AI stands for Artificial Intelligence while AA stands for Artificial Allies.

A relative in Europe shared the contents of an article where an international health agency posted vacancies for medical personnel and invited interested parties to write to their office.

As expected, the organization received hundreds of applications which was a good thing. What the applicants did not know was that their letters would go through screening process that also included an App designed to check if a letter had been written with an AI app. Almost all the letters submitted by the doctors were confirmed to be AI generated, partly generated, or highly suspected to be AI produced.

This is just one example of how AI has become so “popular” and practical that society is now challenged in terms of authenticity and creativity not to mention the concern for “laziness.” On the other hand, advocates for such technology defends it as an almost perfect and efficient tool.

To be fair, we are not all gifted in terms of creative expression and writing skills like a lady I know who used AI to write a letter of invitation and guarantee, sent it to her friend/host abroad, who in turn simply signed it and sent it to the concerned government agency. She was computer literate but not so in writing skills or was simply lazy.

I have no idea of how extensive and popular AI technology is in the Philippines, but we now have the COMELEC chairman expressing strong opposition to AI and deep fake technology as far as the local/national elections are concerned.

To be honest, I find the statements futile or pointless considering how in the last presidential elections, several rallies openly featured free food, T-shirts and 1,000-peso bills being given to attendees who were bused to the venues and the COMELEC could not catch a single violator.

Then there is the perpetual doubt and suspicion that vote counting machines are rigged and final counts cannot be trusted.

During a recent medical conference, AI, and its ability to replace doctor’s diagnostic work was raised and as expected the view was not popular. What can you expect from a room full of doctors! However, the point did bring attention to the advantages of “robots” or medical computers doing patient diagnostics.

For one, the patients won’t have to wait for two to four hours for the doctor to show up, patients can immediately proceed to required tests such as vitals, blood tests, X-rays, etc., based on symptoms. This will actually be a great help to physicians who will have all the results even before the actual consultation. And patients won’t have to sit in crowded corridors worrying about getting infected by other patients.

AI and technology will inevitably take a bigger role in society. The Russian-Ukraine war and the Israeli-Hamas war has shown us how AI and technology has both taken and saved so many lives. Automobiles and planes are increasingly AI dependent or operated.

What should be a growing concern is the tendency for students and young people to become so technology dependent in a country where access to basic information technology and connectivity is not democratic. The more society leans towards AI, the greater the probability that poverty will expand.

Ultimately, only the rich or people who can afford to pay for the technology will have the advantage. But let’s not forget that being efficient or faster does not necessarily mean smarter and more intelligent.

I was told that some learning institutions abroad have limited the use of AI to 10 percent of content or output. In the end, we must continue to value and develop the brain which is the most creative and most powerful of all “computers.”

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AA or Artificial Allies is what I thought of as the Senate and Malacañang ganged up on Senator Migz Zubiri. The event reminded me of the fact that humans and Filipinos for that matter, are like the frog that is placed in a pot of water and put to a boil. We get used to it all until we boil to death or as the other saying goes, cooked in our own fat.

It is a given that in politics, there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies and in politics, power can last for only so long. All the people I spoke with have said that Zubiri is a nice and decent man who bent over backwards just to accommodate and play nice with fellow senators and Malacañang.

Unfortunately, Malacañang had a 12-point legislative agenda and only one passed because the senators would not cooperate. Zubiri didn’t have anything to trade with because all the toys were already given out and in order to give way to Malacañang’s wishes Zubiri would have to betray trusts or abandon allies.

The fact that he did not sell out or abandon allies is a testament to his character. Unfortunately, there are others whose guiding light leads them to do whatever it takes, or betray allies if need be. That is the nature of politics.

The same goes in life. They say that many of our so-called friends are in truth mere acquaintances or convenient allies. As long as the relationship is beneficial or complimentary people will stick around. Whether it’s business, media, or politics, the first sign of a downturn, closure or coup will reveal who your true friends are or convenient allies.

As such, it would be wise to know who your true friends are, who your real allies are and invest in your relationships. They may be few but at least they are true.

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