Science fiction, Hollywood and pop culture have long speculated — sometimes with fright, sometimes with eager anticipation — on the impacts of technology on human life.

When I signed up with Open AI, my first decision was whether to add vocalization to the communication between me and the bot. Talking with a fake human voice felt weird, so I didn’t turn on that option. I asked typical questions, such as how it assesses information.

I have a confession to make: I know practically nothing about AI — artificial intelligence. The truth is that the whole thing scares the bejeebers out of me.

It’s time to restock the kitchen. Would you grab the keys to the car or hop on a horse to get to the grocery store? We take cars for granted now, but when the automobile first appeared, it was loud, smelly, intimidating — and frightening to many people. Some governments responded with “red flag laws,” requiri...

Artificial intelligence is one of the most powerful tools ever placed in human hands. Like every powerful tool, it can improve lives or cause harm. The question isn’t whether AI is ethical. The question is whether I am.

• “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” – Albert Einstein (attributed). • “AI won’t replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don’t.” – Garry Kasparov, 2017. • “Success in creating effective AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst.” – ...

I first dipped my toe into the AI stream a couple of years ago and now engage with this hard-to-define new presence every single day. My current fascination was preceded by dismay. I first tried to use AI to help reconstruct my family’s refugee experience during WWII, which it did with great invention. Worse,...

As part of California’s eighth Biodiversity Week, Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) will offer a series of free talking/walking tours for any age Sept. 5-10 to celebrate and protect Humboldt’s great out-of-doors. All events will start at the Arcata March Interpretive Center, 569 S. G St.

I use AI often and for many things. It helped me fix a botched cake recipe when I accidentally put in too much water. It’s helped me make sense of medical test results, create step-bystep action plans to prepare for presentations, increase my physical strength and remind me of things I need to follow up on.

I was struggling to find an internal rhyme for “online scam” when a modest popup appeared on the screen. “Improve your writing at thisisyourlife.com.”

Last year, I took a class on artificial intelligence through OLLI at Cal Poly Humboldt. Two afternoons of hands-on experience taught by a retired professor who was a former developer of AI. It was a fine and fun class.

Current debate over the importance of health care is nothing new. Although the Founding Fathers didn’t specifically enumerate health care when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” being healthy enough to enjoy those fundamental human rights is under...

When I first heard about AI, I assumed it was a new thing kids were using on social media — like LOL and ROFL — and it stood for “As If.” Like, “Hey, John, you wanna go to the dentist instead of playing golf?”

Freshwater Farms Reserve invites you to come out to the garden on Wednesdays through the beginning of November to pick your own bouquet from its colorful flower garden.

Mother was so proud when I graduated from law school that she let me skip practicing my violin for that night, and we went to Dad’s restaurant for dinner.

How do Humboldters view and use AI? We asked them.

Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday life, whether we actively seek it out or not. It is changing how people search for information, communicate, create, work and learn.

I’ve been an associate faculty with College of the Redwoods Adult & Community Education for 11 years, 10 of which with much of my time teaching at Humboldt County Correctional Facility (HCCF) in Eureka.

Many veterans know the military acronyms SNAFU and FUBAR.* For everyone else, they translate roughly to situations that have gone very wrong.

Growing up in the 1950s, I don’t remember ever hearing the word “technology,” certainly not “techie.” My heroes — Lone Ranger, Sky King and Dobie Gillis —never uttered those words. Nowadays, technology discussions are common.