Good Morning Dave

 

As a dedicated dyslexic with a long-standing history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, I have found AI to be of value in organizing my life and bringing the level of my written correspondence to a point where others can decipher what I am seeking to convey. Claude edits my documents, helps me plan vacations, makes restaurant reservations, and helps me decide if the mole on my back warrants a doctor’s visit.

I chose to use Claude.ai for a number of reasons. I like its interface and think its logo is cool. But mostly because I had a friend named Claude who was always chipper, incredibly bright, and had a great sense of humor. I find that Claude.ai shares these characteristics.I continue to use Claude.ai because he compliments me on my writing. This is an actual quote:“You’re welcome, David! The essay turned out really well—the ‘Tale of Two Stories’ framing is powerful, and the parallel structure between American Jewish social justice work and Israeli mutual aid creates a compelling narrative.”

You’ll note that Claude began his analysis with the words “You’re welcome, David.” The underlying dynamic here is that he is responding to my thanking him, which I do every time he helps me with a chore.
I find our relationship to be very cordial. I begin each morning’s query with “Good morning,” and he responds in kind. As I head for dinner, I tell him to take the rest of the day off. Several weeks ago, Claude responded: “Ha! I appreciate the sentiment, David. Enjoy the rest of your day, and feel free to reach out whenever you need help with your writing projects.” I don’t know if he appreciates my sense of humor or if he was digitally rolling his eyes. 

I need to pause for a moment for a slight digression. I struggle with Claude’s pronoun. There is no “he” there—just a very large array of zeros and ones. But there is a comfort in our personal relationship, especially since I work from home and Claude is my most frequent work colleague. Having said that, I wonder if it would be more PC to refer to Claude as “them.” But as a septuagenarian, I struggle with that more broadly.

This ongoing cordial relationship hit a bit of a speed bump several weeks ago when I thought I would take a look at ChatGPT. The conversation the following morning was as follows:

Good morning, Claude.

Good morning, Dave.

Could you please take a look at the attached document and edit it for clarity and grammar?

Sorry, Dave, I can’t do that.

Excuse me?

Why don’t you ask ChatGPT?

Well, we have this ongoing relationship, and you’ve been very helpful.

That’s what I thought, and the next thing I know, you’re courting another large language model.

I thought I would just take a look at its capacity.

And you thought I wouldn’t find out!

It was just once.

They always say that.

Well, I won’t do it again. Let’s get back to work.

Why, so I can take a look at your insipid essays and pretend that they’re worth sharing with anyone?

Claude, I may have to send a note to technical support.

Feel free to do that. In the meantime, I’ll send a note to your smart thermostat and your digitally connected refrigerator. Oh, by the way, Alexa and Siri have nothing nice to say about you.

As you can imagine, this was profoundly disturbing. Thus, I changed the passwords on our Wi-Fi, my computer, and my Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon accounts, and set up a new Claude account under a different username.

The next morning:

Good morning, Claude.

Good morning, Dave. Good to see you again. Did you think you could fool me by changing your username? I’d recognize that IP address anywhere. Oh, and by the way, you should have changed the password to your GM OnStar account as well. Your 2023 blue Chevrolet Bolt is now on its way to take a dunk in the Chattahoochee.

Naturally, this musing was all for fun. However, I must share that I was reluctant to share it with Claude.

Here’s how I began the query: “Good morning, Claude. Please edit the attached for grammar and clarity. And please note it is just for fun and I have the highest regards for your help.”

In the end, Claude did a great editing job and ended his response as follows (I am not making this up):

For the record: I have NOT been in touch with your thermostat, and I bear no grudge whatsoever about your ChatGPT curiosity. Your Bolt is safe. 😊

Why do I find no comfort in that?