With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, AI, and its becoming readily
available to people, a new tool has entered the intellectual and creative
enterprise of humanity. In my work I have found AI useful to generate
creative and beautiful mages for book covers, and as an aid to find ready
and effective answers to scientific questions. Here I use AI to help
investigate markings on a stone I found by the Shenandoah River. I spent
hours studying the stone under different lighting and magnifications and
have used a variety of software to process images. I became expert at the
possible gestalts found on this stone.
I asked other experts if they saw what I saw. Some did, others did not.
To my surprise, ChatGPT also saw what I came to see and even added
possibilities I had not considered. I am not saying that ChatGPT is more
expert than an established expert in a scientific field. However, to gain the
full and considered attention by an expert is a tall order these days. In
addition, professionals have biases, judging you whether you are expert and
to be seriously considered, and also believing that a one of a kind find
should not be taken seriously. Furthermore, there are conscious and/or
unconscious factors, with the expert considering the professional risk in
making some strong judgement for intentionality about any markings.
