Intelligence for the Intelligent

   If I want to know the next time August 21 will fall on a Friday I ask AI. AI will tell me quickly that August 21 will fall on a Friday again in 2037. Before AI came along I would have gone to a site like Time and Date, but I would have had to scroll through lots of extraneous matter to find what I wanted. Plus I'd get distracted by other interesting info like which planets I could see that night. AI just tells me right off what I want to know.

  AI is good with simple calculations like finding a future date, but can it be trusted with other things? When I heard the Chicago Bears were moving to a new stadium in Indiana, I asked AI where exactly the new stadium would be located. AI said it would be in Hammond, Indiana, just south of Chicago. Even I know that no part of Indiana is south of anywhere in Illinois. Actually, south of Terre Haut, Indiana slumps to the west as it follows the Wabash River, so yah, I can be wrong.  AI does include a disclaimer saying it too can be wrong and that it should always be double checked.

  I worry that AI just tells us what we want to hear. When I heard AI was analyzing people's personalities based on their usage of AI, I asked AI to analyze me. After a little "thinking" AI said it didn't know me well enough to give me an accurate analysis, but based on the fact that I would even ask, AI assumed I must be a wonderful person. I'll need a second opinion on that.

   Can IA be used as an entertaining way to learn new things? I had heard a few years ago that North Dakota was the least visited state in the US. I asked AI if that was still true. No. Alaska holds that distinction. Though Alaska is a cool place with many attractions, it's just too hard to get to. North Dakota tourism's marketing slogan could be, "North Dakota! We're more popular than Alaska!"

  After doing a search, AI will ask if I have any related questions. After my North Dakota popularity search, AI wondered if I wanted to know the least popular state in terms of favorability, not a desire to visit. According to public opinion polls, Mississippi and Alabama, followed closely by Arkansas, New Jersey, and Indiana have the worst reputations. I'll check on Indiana's popularity after the Bears move there. The most popular state is Hawaii. West Virginia is the least fun state based on metrics such as entertainment, night clubs and weather.

The least famous state is Missouri. This is based on which state is most often forgotten when people try to name all 50 states. Also frequently forgotten are Delaware, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Vermont. The most loved state is Hawaii again. The most beautiful state is California, but the state with the best quality of life is the beautiful state of Minnesota.

  Minnesota is also the kindest state. According to AI, the people of Minnesota are just plain nice. We make eye contact and smile. We will help you get your car out of the ditch. We are courteous, soft-spoken, and use a lot of understatements- "We'll have your car out of the ditch in a couple of minutes." Without being prompted, AI said there was a dark side to 'Minnesota Nice,'... the whole passive-aggressive thing.  But admittedly, AI can be wrong.

   People worry about AI and that's fine. Like any tool, AI needs to be used properly. Last week I was checking for the date of the state primary. AI wouldn't just tell me the date (August11) but kept referring me to the website of the Minnesota Secretary of State. I know from previous experience that the Secretary of State site would make me go through several pages to find what I'm looking for. I kept pestering AI to tell me why it wouldn't give me the date and it admitted sheepishly that it won't give exact political information for fear of instigating rumors and false information. I found that admission reassuring.