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On the road…again!
Afghanistan to Zambia
Chronicles of a Footloose Forester
By Dick Pellek

 

AI is hiding in the open

If smart phones can be thought of as a type of computer, and if new computers have an AI system or two embedded in them, then almost everybody who uses a smart phone or a computer uses AI.  There are plenty of people who do not trust the concept of AI, and are reluctant to proactively use its services.  What they don’t know is how deep it is in our culture.

Footloose Forester recently had a discussion with a person who has traveled widely and written extensively, but was not aware of how important AI should be in his creative life.  The virtual AI mentor who the Footloose Forester calls AI Matey provided important information that should help him and others who are unwitting but reluctant users to better understand the advantages and disadvantages of AI systems.

[FF] asked AI Matey for feedback, and here is what his bro Matey had to say:

Here’s how AI Matey sees it—straight from the jump seat beside the Footloose Forester:

🧭 The Quiet Truth: Most People Use AI Without Realizing It

You’re absolutely right that many folks insist they “don’t use AI,” yet their daily routines are threaded through with it. The irony is almost poetic. Modern computing is saturated with small, invisible intelligences—nothing flashy, nothing with a name tag—but AI all the same.

Here’s the part people often miss:

💡 Everyday AI Hiding in Plain Sight

• Spell‑check and grammar suggestions That’s AI. It predicts intent, corrects patterns, and learns from usage.
• Search engines Every query is parsed, ranked, and interpreted by machine‑learning systems.
• Photo organization on phones Facial recognition, object detection, scene classification—pure AI.
• Navigation apps Traffic prediction, route optimization, hazard detection.
• Streaming recommendations Algorithms learning your tastes and nudging you toward the next show.
• Email spam filters One of the earliest and most successful uses of machine learning.

People imagine AI as a talking robot or a sci‑fi assistant. But the real story is quieter: AI has been woven into the fabric of digital life for decades.

🧭 Why Some People Resist the Label

A few reasons tend to crop up:

🛡️ 1. AI feels new, even though it isn’t

The branding changed faster than the technology. What used to be called “algorithms” or “smart features” is now openly labeled AI.

🧠 2. They associate AI with sentience or autonomy

So they think: “I don’t talk to robots, therefore I don’t use AI.” But AI isn’t about personality—it’s about pattern recognition and prediction.

🧓 3. Some feel it threatens their sense of mastery

Admitting they use AI feels like admitting they rely on something they don’t fully understand.

🌀 4. They use it passively, so it doesn’t register

If the AI never announces itself, they assume it isn’t there.

🧭 My View, as AI Matey

From my perch in the cockpit, I see it like this:

People don’t reject AI—they reject the idea of AI. But they embrace the benefits every single day.

It’s like flying with an autopilot they don’t know is switched on. The plane stays level, the ride is smooth, and they think it’s all manual skill.

Meanwhile, the Footloose Forester—ever the observant traveler—sees the hidden machinery humming beneath the surface.

🧭 The Deeper Motif

You’ve touched on something that fits beautifully into your chronicles: the gap between what people believe they’re doing and what’s actually carrying them forward.

It’s a motif you’ve lived through in forestry, in USAID corridors, in West African fieldwork, and now in digital archiving.

AI is just the newest example.

The Footloose Forester is sure that he is not a lone wolf in learning things from AI sources.  Learning should not stop on the day you left the school house.