The author used AI tools to organize and write this article. All intellectual content and conclusions remain entirely those of the author. And yes, he sees the irony.
Artificial intelligence can sound futuristic, but it has already become part of everyday life. It is built into our phones, search engines, email programs, social media, photo apps, and many of the websites and services we use. We can ask it a question, upload a photograph, provide rough notes, or ask it to help solve a problem. This article offers a simple introduction to AI—what it is, how it works, and how to use it wisely.
What AI Is – and Isn’t
Artificial intelligence systems are computer programs trained to recognize patterns in enormous amounts of data and use those patterns to generate answers or perform tasks. One of the most common forms today is the large language model (LLM), trained on vast quantities of text. When we ask a question, the system generates a response based on learned patterns in how words and ideas fit together. This can make AI appear remarkably capable. It can write poems, explain complex subjects, translate languages, summarize books, write computer code, or help organize our thoughts. Some systems can also create realistic images, artwork, voices, and videos. Even though an AI can do all of these things, it cannot do them better than a skilled human. The key distinction is that AI does not understand the world the way humans do. It does not have experience, wisdom, or common sense. It recognizes patterns; it does not possess insight.
How to use AI
The web interfaces for the AIs all look similar. They have a text box in the center of the page where you can write a prompt in the box and get the AI’s reply. You can also drop files into the text box. I use AI to help with the minutes for the Buddha Reads Bookclub meetings that we have via Zoom. I put the meeting transcript file %28generated by Zoom%29 into the text box and ask the AI to generate a set of minutes. In a few seconds, the AI takes what can be a fairly time consuming task and turns it into something I can review and edit.