By Emily Stonehouse

I’ve always found the term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) to be a bit of an oxymoron.

It’s right up there with ‘jumbo shrimp’ or ‘old news’. The two words clashing and pulling against one another, similar to how AI is cloaking our world; an old versus new mentality.

This week in County council, Director of IT Mike March brought a report to the table, outlining the framework for how IT can be utilized and managed moving forward. Of course this is a living document; the realities of AI still bobbing under the surface of possibility.

But to me, intelligence isn’t something that can be artificial. It’s real, it’s learned, it’s practiced, it’s raw. There are varying levels of intelligence; differing niches and specializations, but they all take a dedication and a hunger to learn more.

I see the benefit to AI. It’s easy, it’s accessible, it’s everywhere. I’ve been trying to limit my judgement on those who use AI for posters around elections, advertising, or events. Suddenly everyone is a graphic designer, and that streamlines the process for many.

And truthfully, I still don’t fully understand everything about AI. Because I am a human, it takes me extra time to learn, to track the patterns, to absorb information. AI doesn’t need that extra time. All the content AI produces comes from already generated content. It pulls from algorithms, uploads, and available resources, and through machine learning, it allows programs to improve over time without being explicitly programmed.

The information is all filtered through a data storage centre, which is a large facility (often the size of multiple football fields) that runs the systems behind AI. When you ask a question, generate content, or receive a recommendation, that request is processed through the centre in a matter of seconds. The facilities are currently responsible for 1.5 per cent of global energy use, and that is expected to substantially increase as AI rolls into the world.

It’s a little bit scary to think about. The more we feed these machines, the hungrier they get.

And like kids and dogs, the more they eat, the more they grow.

And while intelligence is far from artificial, maybe it’s becoming a thing of the past anyway.

It’s responsible for our local councils to bring the topic of AI to the table. With an election on the horizon, many mandates and elevator pitches can be made by typing in a few prompts to ChatGPT. But when those people are representing us, do we get artificial intelligence, or the real deal?

We can’t escape AI. Its cloud of doom and gloom is constantly hovering above our heads. And efforts have been made to implement the tool in a number of sectors where it prioritizes people. It’s been proven that the service can be ethically utilized and put into practice.

But will it ever completely wash out the very real intelligence of humans?

I like to think it won’t. I spent this past week driving across the county. I visited a childcare centre in Gooderham, dedicated to breathing new life into the community. I spoke to the Dollo family about being in business for 70 years. I spent time with Sue King at Pine Reflections in Carnarvon, and instantly absorbed a bit of her whimsical outlook on life.

Our communities are rich with colour and chaos, grit and grace, intelligence and imagination. We’ve grown and evolved over the years, adapted and learned.

And there’s absolutely nothing artificial about that.