[Bones McCoy]

Several times when I've asked Bing AI (Microsoft's AI-powered search) for help with niche technical problems, it's basically told me that it doesn't know the answer, but here's some help with a subtly different, (and therefore, to me) irrelevant problem.

This is, I suppose, to be expected. Currently AI is aggregating a ton of received wisdom, so struggles to be innovative. But it will come, undoubtedly.

That's really frustrating, but it does mimic common human behaviour.
Questions on Amazon answers or hobby forums often get that "not what I asked for, but at least you tried" type answers.

[kreuzberger]

I am still struggling to find anything of tangible value. These ChatGPT/Bard/Bing are helpful insofar as they are like Google with pre-formed paragraphs as opposed to bald lists. But the prose! It is turgid, with everything being "iconic" or somesuch repetitive nonsense.

Not wishing to brand myself as an elder statesman of K-Pop or don the mantel of a fearsomely-endowed Manga rapist, I am yet to play with the imaging toys/tools.

The Photoshop "content aware" cutouts are pretty good, mind.

In other news, are Tichi Sunak's tin-tacked mates from Open AI still messaging on his TechBro WhatsApp group? (Fuxake, a week earlier, and we could have dodged Deciduous Dave at the FCO and got some variant of Degenerative AI tipping up in war zones.)

[Bones McCoy]

Since you mention it, the not quite human aspects of generated AI portraits are the spitting image of Dodgy Dave.

[Youngian]

I am still struggling to find anything of tangible value. These ChatGPT/Bard/Bing are helpful insofar as they are like Google with pre-formed paragraphs as opposed to bald lists. But the prose! It is turgid, with everything being "iconic" or somesuch repetitive nonsense.

Journalists are lukewarm at best about AI’s potential as a working aid. An experienced reporter can scan the eye through council minutes and make a better attempt to bash out the most newsworthy items than AI. Useful as SatNavs are, no one uses them if they know the route home.

[Bones McCoy]

I am still struggling to find anything of tangible value. These ChatGPT/Bard/Bing are helpful insofar as they are like Google with pre-formed paragraphs as opposed to bald lists. But the prose! It is turgid, with everything being "iconic" or somesuch repetitive nonsense.

Journalists are lukewarm at best about AI’s potential as a working aid. An experienced reporter can scan the eye through council minutes and make a better attempt to bash out the most newsworthy items than AI. Useful as SatNavs are, no one uses them if they know the route home.

Yeah, experienced reporters, but what about if you're Ollie Uttley, or Georgie Littlejohn?

[Youngian]

Georgina Littlejohn is an experienced professional jobbing hack (more respected than her dad, uncle or whoever Dickie is). Ms Utley is just a ridiculous talking head.

[kreuzberger]

If have been using this hocus pocus for a couple of years and have hitherto been spending much of the saved time weeding out the crud.

Enter GPT-5 and mashing it up with Claude/Replit.

This shit is dynamite. In the last few days, I have created a devilishly complex (jahwohl!) app for work, handling hire-purchase contracts, payments, product depreciation, bad debt, and a bunch of other stuff. This evening, I/we have also knocked out a year's blogging content for my side hustle which Grammarly can't isolate as machine-generated.

If only it could remaster The Fun Lovin' Criminals and not make the originals sound like they were recorded on C60s and then doused in lentil soup, we'd be home and hosed. Next Tuesday, perhaps?