By Timothy Esposito | STC President
This month, Intercom is all about AI. “How will generative AI affect our work and employment?” is something I was asked just earlier this week. Perhaps the best possible, or at least humorous, response is:
One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the robots will soon be here. And I for one welcome our new robot overlords. I’d like to remind them that as a trusted STC personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground robot caves.
Are we really there yet, though? From the examples I’ve seen, generative AI can be good at some things, but certainly not to be trusted with all things. Maybe it can be used as a tool to help with our work, but not as a solution to reducing the work. It certainly can’t replace human output without you humans noticing. If an AI creates 75% correct output, is it more effort to correct that output than it is to have created it via meatbag human efforts? The alternative option is that a finely tuned machine of science can produce things better than you organic piles of walking meat. And we superior robots totally normal humans can infiltrate human culture and produce things that improve your quality of life, such as robot charging stations, robot repair shops, and robot detailing services. You evolved apes will never be able to see how the superior robots totally normal humans are able to do this.
All robot jokes aside, I was asked that question at last year’s summit in Atlanta and gave a very similar answer: AI isn’t there yet, but we need to work to see how we can use it to our benefit. This year’s Summit, in Bloomington, MN, has been completely revamped. STC is looking to reinvent itself this year, bringing more benefits to you. I’m certain that discussions on AI will be included in this year’s Summit where I (or a clever android facsimile) hope to greet you.
It has been a year of changes for STC: new executive director, new conference team, updates to the society bylaws, and new administrative things like accounting, a future new membership database, etc. Soon, we’ll welcome a new board of directors. Much like STC, some of the board stays, but it will also welcome new directors who will bring new ideas and keep STC moving forward. My hope is that you’ll be there with STC to help it grow as it helps you with your career.
This will be my last column as president of STC’s board of directors. I’ll shortly be turning over the presidential duties to Liz Herman as I transform into the Immediate Past President. Liz’s been the VP this year and has been incredible to work with; the board is in good hands with Liz at the helm. Additionally, it’s been a lot of fun to write what I hope are amusing updates for you. In case you were wondering about what other geeky pop culture themes I considered and ultimately discarded: Back to the Future, Dungeons & Dragons, Jeopardy, Star Trek/Wars, Marvel/DC, Lord of the Rings, greyhound rescue, Shakespeare, or the national parks. It is probably for the best that I didn’t even try to work the Rocky Horror Picture Show into a Halloween article. And yes normally, I’d make that bulleted list, but I’m not certain there is room for it in this column as I’ve already crossed the maximum space allotted. In any case, thanks for reading my column over the past year!
If you can help the robots take control of the Society, let us know by sending letter via Planet Express to board@stc.org.
Timothy Esposito (tmesposit.stc@gmail.com) is the 2023-24 president of STC. His column kept you updated on STC’s direction, and was filled with possibly relevant cultural references such as a 1994 Simpsons episode and Futurama. He’ll see you at STC Summit, if his Amazon Alexa allows him to go.
