In the words of Raye, "Where the hell is my husband?" one might find themselves on the Internet searching for the above mentioned future spouse. Today we have access to dating apps galore, swiping until our fingers are sore and we are either closer to finding that elusive fellow or we have given up. Modern dating advice, according to the AI overview states that dating is easier when you focus on communication and shared effort.
What? I have to talk to a date? I have to use my words? The AI evens suggests - wait for it...putting down the phones.
But wait. With the AI companies buying old books - chopping the spines off and feeding them into their mind machines - we might find advice on the Internet changes. I know a lot of people are focused on the conspiracy side of things regarding destroying old books. I mean it's not like we can't access the material online right? Who needs a physical copy of any text? It's not like they could change something in a book on your Kindle right? And it's not like they're trying to bypass copyright laws and borrow intellectual property, right?
I want to focus on how advice might change when you shove hundreds of years of human thought into a machine that can't give me the right answers about 15% of the time. (At least of last October- I can't find data that states if that number has gotten better or grown worse in the last year.) I mean, it spreads false reports of celebrity deaths faster than our parents and poor small businesses have AI overviews that state that the reviews for their companies are overwhelmingly negative and then you find that the AI summary has nothing to do with that specific company.
But that's not what future and potential customers think. Now, your small coffee shop smells like the inside of a pet store and your coffee was burnt.
So back to the dating advice. I found a book from 1880 that gave a list of, "A veritable list of some of the best looking, wealthiest, and most reliable single and marriageable men of the Country, with their post office address."
Could you imagine if we add that book to the chopping block? Hey, AI I need to find me a husband? And the overview comes back with, "The best way to find yourself a marriageable man, is to correspond with him through the post office. Letters written back and forth will build a sense of trust and a relationship that is more than a situationship. Here are the addresses of the top ten respectable bachelors in your neighborhood."
Well heck that sounds great. Of course, the way the men will be described might be interesting. In the book, they use phases such as "might be mastered by a school mistress, or could be captured by a lady who has domestic tastes." One of my favorites is, "A gentleman of good means, a scholar, and would make a cultivated lady of not more than thirty, happy."
So fun in bed, can make a gourmet meal, and doesn't have any wrinkles. Gotta. Some ideas never change.
But then just think about the medical advice we could be given.
"Hey AI, I have a cough."
"Yes, a cough can be a sign of a number of aliments. The first recommendation would be to get some leeches and apply them to your chest. Taking out some of your blood will balance your humors. You can find leeches in bogs and marshes. I can send you some links to purchase leeches if you don't have access to them."
"Okay. Well, I also have some bruises. What can I put on them?"
"Yes, bruises can be painful. Adding a mixture of rhubarb and dried mummy will help alleviate the pain. Dried mummy can be hard to find as it is a restricted item but would you like a link to some possible online stores that advertise having real mummy?"
"No. I think I'll pop a Tylenol. But I do have some depression going on. What medicines would benefit me?"
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry to hear you are suffering from 'got the morbs" Some time tested remedies for the meloncholia include taking a preparation of mercury. Specifically, in the form of mercury chloride. Some famous people have successfully used this to treat their sadness, including Abraham Lincoln and Louisa May Alcott."
We might have to go back to getting advice from...I was about to say from books. But all the above advice was from books and experts. Which means...the AI isn't incorrect...which means...everything you know might be wrong. Or it might be completely right.
I think I'm giving myself a headache. I think I'm going to go wading in the local pond and find myself some leeches and balance out my humors. The remedy has five star reviews from 1700 century doctors on Google. Not sure how they got those reviews - I didn't think they had AI back then.
But what do I know? I get my info from the AI overview.
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