Okay then...guess that's how you're supposed to do it

[caheaton]

Noticed that Google now has AI generated answers when conducting searches. According to Google's AI, this is how you install an Andersen weight distribution hitch:

1. Measure the vehicle and trailer height
2. Attach the WD shank and hitch head
3. Set the hitch head angle
4. Install spring bars and couple the trailer
5. Raise the trailer jack
6. Engage the hookup brackets
7. Straighten the triangle plate
8. Attach the trailer to the ball

My hitch didn't come with bars....and if I set hitch head at an angle I might break the hitch....

This reminds me of the time when my wife and I were camping on the Gulf Coast in December. I asked Alexa where alligators go in the winter (expecting an answer along the lines of burrows and dormancy). Instead she gave me one word: Jamaica.

She obviously misunderstood me, but my wife and I had a good long laugh from that one!

 

[HABBERDABBER]

GPS

I once had my GARMIN telling me to go straight at a T intersection. A 300 foot high sandstone bluff was straight ahead of me. No going straight there.
So much for newfangled technology.
To continue my rant, it also gave me directions once, which ended me up going down a Chicago alley.

Bah! Humbug! Balderdash!

 

[Ron in BC]

I

Bah! Humbug! Balderdash!

At times I agree and we just had a similar situation which kind of surprised us.

But as someone who has navigated with celestial navigation, Loran C, SAT NAV and now GPS I still consider GPS to be a minor miracle. I trust it, to a certain point. I'm not above using other info if I have any doubts.

Ron

 

[HABBERDABBER]

At times I agree and we just had a similar situation which kind of surprised us.

But as someone who has navigated with celestial navigation, Loran C, SAT NAV and now GPS I still consider GPS to be a minor miracle. I trust it, to a certain point. I'm not above using other info if I have any doubts.

Ron

I also use auxiliary information...like hard copy maps and state gazetteers.
A USA submarine smacked at sea mount awhile back using it's computer guidance charts. The sea mount was not shown on those.
It also had the hard copy charts stored in the nav station that showed the location of that sea mount, but were not used at that time.
Gimme all you got...all of the info available......paper and GPS.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/04/asia...-undersea-mountain-hnk-intl-ml-dst/index.html

"A Navy investigation concluded the San Francisco was traveling at maximum speed at a depth of 525 feet (160 meters) when it hit the seamount, which was not on the chart the sub’s commanders were using at the time.
But the probe found the commanders should have known the undersea mountain was there based on other charts in their possession, which indicated a navigational hazard in the area."

And Apple Maps has directed me well many times, if there's a cell connection. I'm no Ned Luddite, but we put a lot of trust in the gizmos. I'm skeptical...trust and verify.

 

[DanandDaphne]

We have been using waze on our phones to get around for sometime. We drove all over Dallas recently and it never steered us wrong.

Before, navigating around a city like that with paper maps was a nightmare, I could usually get where I needed to go but...:nonono: now the woman in my phone tells me where to go and with the map unfolding on the display screen as we go.

I think it's pretty miraculous really.

 

[Mike G]

I saw a short video the other day, wherein a gal asked her phone how many "R"s are in "strawberry." The phone kept saying "There are 2 Rs in strawberry." She asked it to spell the word and it did so correctly, using 3 Rs, but still said the word has only 2.

Really, I shouldn't fault the AI systems. I know some humans who are equally illogical... :whistling:

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

A.I. stands for Artificial Ignorance. regurgitated garbage, unsourced.

 

[Emjay-ESC]

I once had my GARMIN telling me to go straight at a T intersection. A 300 foot high sandstone bluff was straight ahead of me. No going straight there.
So much for newfangled technology.
To continue my rant, it also gave me directions once, which ended me up going down a Chicago alley.

Bah! Humbug! Balderdash!

Yeah about those Garmins. As a Red Cross volunteer, I relied on my Garmin to send me to the right incident location. Garmin sent me on a dirt road ending up in a farmer's field with the field hands blinking in surprise. Luckily, my real location wasn't an emergency call.

Emjay

 

[GinoandLinda]

Love it or hate it, AI is here to stay. AI is only as good as the data its algorithm uses. The more refined and curated that foundational data is, the better it performs. If it is using the highly suspect data in reviews and forums, well as that say, garbage in garbage out. I'm not disparaging this or other forums. While they have a wealth of knowledge and are fun to read, they also have an abundance of conjecture and personal opinion.

AI is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The workforce is aging and declining and countries that have invested in AI will fair better. All of that aside, as always the best advice is trust but verify. This has held true for many, many years. As they say, measure twice, cut once.