"I know many people hate and despise AI".

People I’ve encountered who have expressed a sentiment like that often know little or nothing what it is they think they despise. It seems to be more trendy to say that than is it trendy to know something about it.

I'm not a trend follower. I resent boilerplate AI customer service responses. Oooh, look, we gave you a three paragraph response which includes all the points from your message promising we'll look into that--aren't we clever? Um. No. You're telling me you can't be bothered dealing with your customers' concerns. I hate the AI answering system which only has a few sentences to say, telling you that the number you've had for 25 years doesn't match their records so it can't do anything. The later human, by the way, found my number to be exactly accurate. AI searches will find and repost lies to you, will give you wrong information, will give you three different answers when the question is asked three different times.

BUT, at heart AI is a high speed search engine. It is excellent at analyzing pictures for minutiae. It has saved graduate students from the drudgery of many menial data collection jobs. They only have to check the AI's work rather than ruining their eyes and their posture, poring over endless little details. Same in medicine where AI can pick up tiny abnormalities in tests that human eyes might not even be able to see, of if seen, might not be able to pick out as more than a variation in light.

I resent the companies using AI to make really lovely designs with which to scam an unaware public out of their money. I can usually tell by cadence in wording and certain visual cues if what I'm seeing is AI generated. Thank goodness it's not that good yet. But there are very good uses it too. And if it's giving Hobbitmom correct answers, that's excellent. I admit, I've looked at the search AI as an overview for some cooking related things, but haven't found the results trustworthy. It's still sometimes a good starting point for finding the answer more quickly in my own search. I also use it if I can't remember the differences between a couple of things. That is, when I use it for recipe related things, it's mostly to do my looking up for me, faster, but if it's anything important, I'll check it against other sources.

BTW, I've read that some cookbook chefs, like your least favorite sister-in-law, will purposefully put errors into their recipes because they don't really want you to be able to make the dishes they've made their careers on. Honest mistakes, also happen, like leaving out an ingredient. I have a book of good recipes from a famous baker which is so riddled with mistakes, there's a two page list of errata you have to download to use the book.

I’ve been using AI extensively for lots of things including cooking, over the past many months.

At its best, it’s great. For example, the other day I saw a recipe online that I wanted to use as a base for method/format but wanted to take a completely different direction. It confirmed that I was on a realistic track, and made some appreciated comments about what they would and would not do, what ingredients to use or avoid, etc.

Another example, I wanted to make cookies the other night to take to dinner without going shopping. I made a list of ingredients on hand including 150g of Reese’s chips, and it acaled a delicious batch together.

On the other hand, it’s steered me completely wrong, including some fruit ”glass” cylinders that were a complete fail due to AI guidance. After 7 hours it went in the garbage. ”Ok, I underestimated that, next time try this.” Times like that mske it VERY frustrating to be talking to a machine that has zero ability to feel remorseful.

Always, always question and re-question if something seems off. If you explain why it seeme off, nine times out of ten they’ll agree and adjust.

So overall, I find it extremely useful to bounce ideas off of, whether cooking or projects around the house. But know its limits and understand it’s just basing answers on what it’s finding. And in the kitchen, that could be something from Joel Robuchon or it could be from Scooby Doo.

Yup, I'm one of those who despise generative AI - I believe it's making us stupider and lazier, and it's too often wrong. It would never occur to me to use generative AI in cooking, though I'm also not one to use a recipe for cooking very often.

I love using Chat GPT and AI. I recently used Chat GPT to help with an upcoming trip to Munich. I had some questions about which part of Munich I should stay based on my interests. Chat GPT told me all of the areas within Munich and based on what I want to see and do, I was able to select a hotel in the area that I want. I did double-check the information that I was given, for confirmation. I really didn't know where to begin to identify the Munich areas, and Chat GPT was invaluable.

I think people's personality and willingness to be open and try new things are a factor in who hates Chat GPT or AI. Without even exploring it, some people are resistent and not interested in learning all it can do.

Just like some people still write checks for everything or use a flip phone in the 21st century 😆 Some people "just know" they won't like something before they even learn about it.

Now, now. Don't hate on the flip phones. They're demonstrably low tech (most models), which is required for people who work in various secure environs. No camera, no internet, no nothing, just a telephone, which they can use when they walk outside without surrendering them to Security.

I just asked ChatGPT how it would respond to the OP. I think this was fair:

I’ve found AI extremely useful in the kitchen too, particularly for the kinds of questions that aren’t really worth digging through a cookbook for. It’s like having someone knowledgeable standing there who you can ask, “Wait, why does this recipe do that?” or “What if I don’t have this ingredient?”

That said, I think its biggest value is as a sounding board rather than an unquestionable authority. It can give you a very plausible-sounding answer that is nevertheless wrong, so I’m more likely to trust it when I understand the underlying cooking principle or can sanity-check the suggestion.

But for things like proportions, substitutions, techniques, troubleshooting, or figuring out what to do with some random ingredient in the refrigerator, it’s pretty remarkable. The ability to ask a follow-up question and keep refining the answer is something a traditional cookbook obviously can't do.

Are these people comfortable using computers? Can they program a dvr? I only bother with the smartphone features I perceive a need for, and I rarely have mine on. I used to be on the leading edge of tech, but I'm just not interested enough to keep up to date, and most of the lingo has changed, as well. I'm constantly learning other things, however, and maybe the flip phone lovers are too. Teaching Calculus to math haters is a lot easier than teaching luddites how to use electronics...