Editor’s Page – July 2025

Artificial, yes. Intelligence? Not so much

Each of my days are spent in front of a computer screen as my work is all computer work.  As Editor for the Ojo I must read a lot of material, research, fact check, contact people, answer questions and email.  It is a full-time job.

This makes me both knowledgeable about computers and incredibly opinionated about computers. There is nothing more infuriating to me than the unwanted “upgrades” to software and having to work around the endless intrusion of AI.

Thursday I was doing research and was looking on WhatsApp for someone I needed to speak with. Suddenly out of nowhere, I get a message from Meta AI.  

Now here I will pause. I realize I am picking a fight with non-entity.  But this response was too stupid for words. Why would I switch browsers or search engines if I was specifically interested if this person was on WhatsApp? I simply respond:

This literal tool is attempting to show me what it has learned…probably from 1970 texts on beginning psychology.  Or Therapy 101 guidebooks.  

I respond:

At this point I figure out that it will keep responding to me no matter what I say, so I cease.

This has been formatted so people can see I didn’t make this up, this was the actual interaction with this AI.

First it inappropriately addresses me and tries to use “cool and hip” language. I am shocked as a user for many years this has never happened to me within this program before, and I am suddenly aware with all the hype of privacy, that this is not so private after all. My microphone is off, but the AI is reading what I am writing, without my consent.

AI has given many wonderful machine advancements in manufacturing and technology, but in my opinion, it has no place in my creative work or in my computer.  I keep my microphone off because AI “listens” and will interject if you use assistants such as Alexa, or Siri, Gemini or whatever they call themselves.

No thank you. I don’t want that. If I want an alarm set, I’ll do it myself.  If I have a question, I will SEARCH for it myself on the BROWSER and SEARCH ENGINE of my choice.

And this does not even begin to discuss our poor artists whose photos, paintings and sculptures are stolen and used in AI. 

Most of our social media feeds are AI generated, weather you realize it or not. And AI really isn’t very smart there so many errors in word usage. Spelling names incorrectly, using wrong words is a big trend. Hear instead of here, the wrong use of there, their, are examples. AI maybe new and fast and newer is not always better.

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Victoria Schmidt

Victoria Schmidt came to Mexico with her husband, in 2007.She is a graduate of Moorhead State University, Minnesota and graduated Cum Laudewith a BA degree in Radio, Television and Film.At 23 she was hired at multi-national media corporation, where she worked 10 years as their Director for Operations and Finance. She then ran her own business consulting company.She has won multiple community service awards. Writing has been a passion of Victoria’s since Junior High.She has been active in the writing and publishing business for over 40 years and has been a columnist for the Ojo del Lago since 2008.

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