Trying To Keep Up With It

They came to teach Artificial Intelligence. Why didn't they come to teach Brain Surgery after Lunch? Or Rebuilding Automobile Transmissions? Might as well. I could've learned those as easily as AI. Which means, of course, not at all. I'm not wired to learn AI. Or those, either. Or Replacing Car Engines 101. Growing up, I had buddies, Bobby and Mike, who could hang a 327 Corvette engine on a chain in a chinaberry tree and replace the cylinder heads and the camshaft in half an hour. Hell, I can't replace a flat tire. Why didn't they come to teach bricklaying? I've seen the best (P.A. Deere of McComb) do that. I'm not game enough to try to follow him. Why not architecture? Do you want me to build your house? Why didn't they come to teach agriculture, like Phoebe does so well at the local high school. I can grow a darn fine crop of Clemson Spineless, but little else. Why not a class entitled, 'Wrestling Alligators at the Barnett Reservoir.' That might be more fun than Artificial Intelligence. Is AI truly something we'd all better be learning by the time spring arrives? Yes, they say, because it's taking over our lives. It's not coming, it's here and consuming us, whether we know it, or like it. Among the workshop's topics were 'customized GPTs,' 'data security best practices,' 'screen capture awareness,' 'python programming,' and 'measurement frameworks.' It reminded me of the time 30 years ago that a hospital system I worked for sent me to a workshop teaching non-techies how to operate the brand-new Internet that was suddenly consuming the world's attention — 'You've got mail.' The class was about more than a new form of communication called 'email.' It included such topics as algorithms, digital security and the role of social media in information dissemination — all Greek to me. When I returned to my job they, the bosses, asked me what I had learned. Without going into details, let's just say they sent someone else to the next workshop. Now cometh AI. A business development agency operated by a major southern university is sponsoring statewide workshops for locals to learn more AI. The instructors are excellent and forgiving, and employees of local businesses and institutions are learning more than just the basic skills they need to employ AI in their jobs. Some came strictly to enhance their skills. But, it wasn't for me. What is artificial intelligence? One said, 'At its core, AI is the science of training systems to emulate human tasks. An AI system requires three ingredients — a problem, inputs or data, and a set of parameters or rules. Following these parameters, the AI processes the provided data and draws conclusions from it in an attempt to find solutions for the problem.' Well said, but, yes, Greek. I'm talking about the years — and the days — that some of us have left to learn new digital dog tricks like AI. The 'AI Deep Dive: Hands-On Workshop for Small Business Owners' was just the ticket some entrepreneurs needed to improve their craft. One accomplished participant said some 'are still grappling' to be proficient in an ever-changing, formidable, informational and technological universe. Per usual, she was right on target.