thanks to the AI summary
I have a variety of group chats (don’t we all?) and while most are on WhatsApp, I have one with my two daughters (ages 22 and 26) on iMessage. The new AI Summary function courtesy of Apple is one of those things that I feel one has to indulge, for no other reason that it exquisitely highlights the absolute misfire of artificial intelligence when relating to actual conversations between humans.
Storytime:
My eldest daughter lives near Durham, and her boyfriend’s mum (who lives in Newcastle) does alllll the Christmas things like markets, wreath-making, gingerbread decorating and the like, and as she has two daughters who don’t live nearby, Amber gets invited instead. I love Christmas, but I’ve never had the opportunity or organisational skills to partake in these Hallmark-movie type activities so Amber is making up for lost time.
The musings which she shared on the group chat today were about how she wasn’t sure what to wear to all these events, and my younger daughter and I came up with some suggestions, but Amber said she had been catching up with the laundry and couldn’t remember where she’d put some of the clothes she was considering.
Wonderfully, the AI Summary interpreted this as:
“Christmas sweatshirt to be worn; jeans still missing”
I could almost hear the BBC pips in the background, and Fiona Bruce recounting how the authorities were searching for information, specifically from washing machines and baskets.
Much hilarity ensued, and I was reminded of a post I’d seen where a similar incident had occurred with someone complaining on a group chat how ill they were feeling, and the AI Summary was along the lines of “Possible plague infection; likely to be dead by Friday“.
I think it is safe to say that it’s going to be a very long time before artificial intelligence gives British humour a run for its money…
