New year! New AI?

It was a very busy December – my day job sort of took over my life and the only spare capacity I had needed to go towards preparing for Christmas. After a busy start to the year, spending time with family, the rest of January and February are turning out to be much quieter, much of my work on the day job having been cancelled (careful what you wish for!). But I am hoping this is just a brief hiatus and that things will pick up in the spring. In the meantime I am trying to make the most of this ‘found time’, to rest and recuperate, take a holiday, read lots and watch some of the things on my television catch-up list! Are any UK readers here as addicted to The Traitors as much as I am?!

I haven’t made any new year resolutions as such – why set myself up to fail in what must be the toughest month of the year! – but I have been reflecting on the year that has passed. It was a roller coaster for me, with some big achievements and some very happy events for my family, but also some changes that will no doubt require a bit of adaptation in our lives. The world felt like a turbulent place in 2024 and I am somewhat afraid for the medium term future – it does not look like things will get better any time soon, the opposite seems more likely.

As each day goes by I find myself interacting with AI with a frequency not of my choosing. Whether it’s outcomes on things I search for online, interactions with businesses and services, or, on this very blog, strangely worded comments that do not seem to come from real humans. Has anyone else found that too?

It takes me quite a while to write a blog post, to think about what I want to say, to express my thoughts or write a book review, to edit it and then press all the necessary buttons to post. There are I am sure people (or not-people) out there simply asking ChatGPT to write a book review, an essay or a thought-piece and getting the job done in a fraction of a second. I could make it all so much easier for myself! And what about those AI- generated books and stories that people are publishing, crowding out hard-working, intelligent and thoughtful writers? As for social media, I can no longer think of one good thing to say about it.

All these rather disheartening external factors have, however, led me to focus on what is truly good and worthwhile. Over the last few weeks I have read some really wonderful books (Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, for example, after finishing which I rushed out to get Sepulchre, the second book in her Languedoc trilogy and will be reviewing both soon), I have spent some truly wonderful time with family and friends, and I have enjoyed nature and my garden, the deep midwinter and the snow.

To all the human bloggers and writers out there, happy 2025, I hope that you too are able to continue doing your thing, honing your craft and spreading joy in the year ahead.