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My definition of AI 2/19/2026 What is AI?  The term stands for artificial intelligence.   You will find many difference definitions.  Some definitions include machines that can think and make decisions in the same manner as human beings.  Others refer to the ability to recognize patterns in data and use it to make decisions, understand language, learn from the data it collects and automate tasks.   In truth, the definitions are correct, but limited.  AI is a field of computer science.  It meshes recent advances  in data storage, algorithms and computer and cloud hardware with advanced programming techniques to allow automation of tasks and even decision making.   There are even "deep learning" algorithms that use multilayered neural networks to better analyze an respond to speech and understand sentiments expressed in speech and writing.   What this means is that "AI" is not just one thing but a series of things.  It is a broad definition for advanced programming and hardware.
Is AI good or bad? 2/19/2026 Is AI good or bad?  It is neither.  If you hand a child a ruler and he/she uses it to measure then we would say that is good.  But if he/she uses that same ruler to hit another child, then it is bad.  However, it is not the ruler that is at fault, but the act that is bad.  AI is the same.  When used to help create something or help someone do their work more quickly or efficiently, it can be very good. However, it can also be used by people with bad motives to better hack systems.  AI is not inherently bad, but in and of itself it is not "good" either.   But this is true of many advances.  Advances such as the printing press, vaccines, the automobile, electricity and cell phones caused a lot of fear and some of the fear was even valid.  For example, one concern for electricity was that it was start fires.  Which can be true.  In fact, a recent fire in my neighborhood was caused by a bad extension cord.  However, today we rely on electricity for modern life and currently, the world cannot function without it.  But what makes electricity a viable tool is that there are many regulations and improvements in the lines that carry it that reduce the risk.  For example, the grounding rod used by your electric distribution lines prevents surges, stabilizes voltage, etc.   So AI will need guard rails to prevent it from infringing on copy rights, using personal information, etc.   The industry and governments are  already working on security for AI, so I believe we will see much improvement over the next few years.
AI and Jobs 2/18/2026 There are numerous news articles and blog posts regarding AI and loss of jobs. So I decided to query a couple of the popular AI tools, ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot to see what they came up with.  I asked both this question:  How many jobs have been lost in the last 12 months due to AI?  Both gave pretty detailed answers.  I've included just the summaries below:   <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 1261.33px; height: 405px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><colgroup><col style="width: 597px;"><col style="width: 663px;"></colgroup> <tbody> <tr style="height: 14.5pt;"> <td style="width: 262pt; padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Aptos Narrow', sans-serif; vertical-align: bottom; border: 1px solid windowtext; white-space: nowrap;" align="left">ChatGPT</td> <td style="border-left: none; width: 312pt; padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Aptos Narrow', sans-serif; vertical-align: bottom; border-top: 1px solid windowtext; border-right: 1px solid windowtext; border-bottom: 1px solid windowtext; border-image: initial; white-space: nowrap;" align="left">CoPilot</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 258.0pt;"> <td style="border-top: none; width: 262pt; padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Aptos Narrow', sans-serif; vertical-align: top; border-right: 1px solid windowtext; border-bottom: 1px solid windowtext; border-left: 1px solid windowtext; border-image: initial; white-space: normal;" align="left"> Summary (best current numbers we can state) ~50,000–55,000 U.S. job cuts in 2025 have been connected to AI in public tracking. Of those, 10,000–27,000 were directly attributed to AI or related technology implementation. There’s no global official total for the past 12 months — similar data at national scale generally isn’t compiled yet.</td> <td style="border-top: none; border-left: none; width: 312pt; padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Aptos Narrow', sans-serif; vertical-align: top; border-right: 1px solid windowtext; border-bottom: 1px solid windowtext; border-image: initial; white-space: normal;" align="left"> So what’s the real number? Putting these sources together: U.S. (explicit AI-cited layoffs): ~55,000 in 2025 UK: 8% net job loss among AI‑adopting firms Global: measurable but uneven reductions, often anticipatory rather than directly caused by AI performance. There is no authoritative global total, but the data shows: AI‑related job cuts are real, concentrated in white‑collar and tech‑adjacent roles, and often driven by cost‑cutting expectations, not actual AI capability. </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 38px;"> <td style="border-top: none; width: 262pt; padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Aptos Narrow', sans-serif; vertical-align: top; border-right: 1px solid windowtext; border-bottom: 1px solid windowtext; border-left: 1px solid windowtext; border-image: initial; white-space: normal;"> </td> <td style="border-top: none; border-left: none; width: 312pt; padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-family: 'Aptos Narrow', sans-serif; vertical-align: top; border-right: 1px solid windowtext; border-bottom: 1px solid windowtext; border-image: initial; white-space: normal;"> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
AI and jobs part 2 2/18/2026 However, since I have been in the IT field for a significant amount of time, I also know that it is reasonable to assume some jobs were created by AI.   Both ChatGPT and CoPilot agreed that a significant number of jobs have been created. Links to the details are below.  There was some difference in the number of jobs created but both AI sources seemed to see hundreds of thousands of jobs created with possibly millions more coming in the next several years.  I have not noticed any postings about created jobs.   ChatGPT:   <div style="max-width: 650px;" data-ephox-embed-iri="https://chatgpt.com/share/69962c0a-54a0-8010-a6ec-29fff565606c"> <div class="ephox-summary-card"><a class="ephox-summary-card-link-thumbnail" href="https://chatgpt.com/share/69962c0a-54a0-8010-a6ec-29fff565606c"> <img class="ephox-summary-card-thumbnail" src="https://cdn.openai.com/chatgpt/share-og.png"> </a> <a class="ephox-summary-card-link" href="https://chatgpt.com/share/69962c0a-54a0-8010-a6ec-29fff565606c"> ChatGPT - AI Job Losses Overview ChatGPT is your AI chatbot for everyday use. Chat with the most advanced AI to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster. ChatGPT </a></div> </div>   CoPilot:   <div style="max-width: 650px;" data-ephox-embed-iri="https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/esDS53G5XwfogQ4SsfBFd"> <div class="ephox-summary-card"><a class="ephox-summary-card-link-thumbnail" href="https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/esDS53G5XwfogQ4SsfBFd"> <img class="ephox-summary-card-thumbnail" src="https://copilot.microsoft.com/c/api/conversations/shares/esDS53G5XwfogQ4SsfBFd/preview"> </a> <a class="ephox-summary-card-link" href="https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/esDS53G5XwfogQ4SsfBFd"> Has AI created any jobs in the last 12 months? Shared via Copilot Has AI created any jobs in the last 12 months? </a></div> </div>
AI and jobs part 3 2/18/2026 So what does this mean for the average worker.  It means that workers need to be flexible.  Be willing to learn new skills.  It also means we need to keep up with what the latest trends in the job market.  Knowledge is power.  The more you know and the more you prepare ahead of time, the more you are likely to be ready if your job is affected.  I know that is a dreary thought to many.  Especially if you are nearing retirement, you may think, I don't want to start a new career now, but remember that you also want to control your life, not let some job market changes force you to retire before you are ready.  Over the next few days, I plan to do a deep dive into what jobs may be added or removed and try to identify some lines of job types that might be available and how to train for them.
Post 2 2/11/2026 Today, I am thinking about the cost of AI. Here is some approximations of AI/Google search power requirements: Traditional Google search: ~0.3 Wh per query (older baseline figure). AI text generation query: commonly estimated ~0.3 Wh to ~3 Wh — often ~10× more energy. Optimized AI search (e.g., Google Gemini): ~0.24 Wh per query in recent reporting, showing improvements.
More on AI costs 2/11/2026 AI costs are more than just how many watt hours are used by a query. There are other concerns. Many people use AI to summarize or even create documents and other content like images. I have used AI tools to do many things; including the image on my website. This is a great advantage. But it does raise some concerns: 1. Reduces our ability to effectively communicate: When I was in school, we could not use calculators in math class. The reason was so that we could learn to do the math. While using a calculator is faster, learning the math means you can detect error and verify answer. For example, if you know that 5 + 4 equals 9, then if you accidentally press a 6 instead of 5 into your calculator, you'll know there is an error. Learning proper grammar and effective writing skills means we can put our own stamp into an email or other document which makes our emails and letters represent ourselves not the AI. 2. Creativity may be lost: Art, advancement in science and really any invention are a product of the creative visions of individuals. Images from AI, are not new or a result of creativity, but are derivative from existing works. Some of them are really great and fun to produce. I used AI to create a cartoon image from a picture for my web site. However, there is no emotional component. Many inventions were considered impossible by "conventional" wisdom but changed lives. Examples: The flying machine by the Wright brothers and the internal combustion engine that made motor vehicles possible. Because AI is only able to use knowledge it has, it takes an imagination to create something new. 3. Makes humanity too dependent: If humans don't keep then own skills up to date, then in case of power failures or server failures, humanity will not be able to function. I live in an area that has had power failure that have lasted weeks. A natural disaster can happen at any time. 4. Opens more avenues for criminals: Criminals are already using the "dark web" and AI. The more we turn over to AI, the more we expose ourselves to these bad actors. AI is still early in its use. Unfortunately, security has not caught up yet in the AI world. Also, copyright infringement is very easy when using AI.
My First Post 1/1/2026 First Entry