From: jl@glen--canyon.com   
      
   On Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:48:22 -0700, Don Y   
    wrote:   
      
   >I am increasingly amused -- to the point of dismay! -- about how   
   >little common sense is noted in "answers" provided by tools.   
   >   
   >Search engines, of course, are notoriously bad at allowing for   
   >criteria refinement -- the more terms you add (increasing specificity),   
   >the more results you get!   
   >   
   >But, it seems to be creeping into more "solutions" -- where the   
   >algorithm chosen simply doesn't exhibit common sense.   
   >   
   >E.g., specifying "Penny's" [sic] in the GS gives me a location   
   >some 1000+ miles from here!  Does the GPS (which could have been   
   >observing ALL of my travels for the past decade -- never leaving   
   >the city limits in that vehicle!) think I *suddenly* am interested   
   >in a cross-country trek?  Wouldn't a more likely scenario be that   
   >something is wrong with the criteria I've specified (or, its   
   >interpretation of it)?   
   >   
   >"I find no destinations within a 25 mile radius.  Would you like to   
   >expand your search criteria?  Or, change the destination sought?"   
   >(instead of trying to dick with a device while driving)   
   >   
   >[You *do* know that it is "THE Home Depot" and not "Home Depot"]   
   >   
   >SWMBO went looking for a woman's garment.  73,000 hits (at a brick   
   >and mortar).  Really?  Do you even HAVE 70,000 items in stock???   
   >   
   >So, instead of using the 6 words that THEIR web page had used to   
   >describe the item -- or, the 10 digit number that was embedded in   
   >the URL as a likely "item number" -- she should say, what:  "garment"?   
   >   
   >Just because a machine is performing the task, doesn't mean it shouldn't   
   >be "thinking about" the results it is providing ("How is providing   
   >70,000 hits going to improve the shopping experience for this POTENTIAL   
   >customer?  Maybe I should interact with them and ask for more guidance   
   >instead of just throwing page after page at them and hoping they find   
   >SOMETHING before closing the browser or moving off to Amazon, Costco...")   
      
      
   We were discussing how AI is scaring all the CE/EE grads, the coders,   
   which makes sense to me. Coding in a precedural language is like   
   spinning and weaving and sewing clothes by hand.   
      
   But our issue is whether AI can replace circuit designers. I think   
   not. There are too many possible circuits for a small number of words   
   to invent one. And the side issues of flexibility, manufacturability,   
   thermals, packaging, all that.   
      
   As you note, as we think about a design in progress we should be   
   willing to change our minds about everything, including whether we   
   even want to do it.   
      
      
      
      
   John Larkin   
   Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center   
   Lunatic Fringe Electronics   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)