A Love Hate Relationship with AI

I have a love-hate relationship with Artificial Intelligence (AI).  There is no question AI is here to stay.  In time, I anticipate it will become better, but it is still in its infancy.  I love to look up all kinds of things.  From how tall Denzel Washington is to the address of my favorite restaurant.  I even found a website and app that provides medical information.  www.Doctronic.com.

It was designed by doctors to allow you to enter your medical concerns and receive a FREE report of possible diagnoses and treatment options. I tried it out three times, and I was impressed by the thorough questions they asked.  If you need a prescription, for $39 you can get a telehealth visit with one of their doctors.  Considering my medical experiences last month, this approach was better than the treatment I received when I went in to see a physician. By the way, I am doing much better.  Using AI is very much dependent on how you enter your question.  Unfortunately, you may not know the information is not accurate unless you already know the answer to the question.  I learned that when I googled myself.   I asked the question, ” Who is the first black female maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Wisconsin.  I received all kinds of answers, all incorrect.  I am the first female maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Wisconsin.  My name finally came up after a number of entries.  Address and telephone numbers are also a problem.  Call first before you make a trip to an address that you receive from AI.  What is maddening to me is that it seems as though companies do not check to see how their system works.  This is really a problem when you are job seeking.  Applications need to be in a format that AI wants to see.  If they give you the option to enter your resume, don’t do so.  In an effort to make your resume look like what the employer is looking for, you will see entries that look nothing like what was on your resume.  While it takes time, enter the information as it is asked.  Even worse, if the entries are not in the format required, your application is canceled, and you never receive any information from the employer.  It is unfortunate, as there are so many employment needs that go unfilled because of the way AI is set up.  While it may seem to be more efficient to use this automated system, employers are missing out on some good candidates.  And then, if you complete the application online, you may not be able to submit the information, and you do not know why, and there is no one to ask how to move forward.  A real person is not always the solution. I have been trying to get a part for my CPAP equipment.  I was transferred to three people, all asking me the same question, and I still do not know when or if I will get my part.  My request then goes to someone else, perhaps to determine if that part is available.  Try to enter a complaint. You are given a telephone number, a chat with a non-human, or an email address.  I have spent hours trying to get something done.  I am so tired that I can only take a nap and come back to it the next day.

I once worked at a clinic where the operator was sending calls to the voicemail of the medical assistants. There were 100 voicemail messages, all unanswered, and then they all disappeared without being addressed.  Is it any wonder that patients came into the clinic angry and considered combative?  And what about calls made to a company near the end of the day?  You are on hold, but no one will ever answer because their staff has left for the day.

I also enjoy the assistance in writing this article.  I am promptly signaled that grammar and spelling need some work.  This makes writing less of a chore.  I even use the features on my cell phone or with word processing that allow me to communicate with others who speak a different language.  I can translate a lease or other communication to those who speak other languages.  I am more comfortable when the person I am working with who speaks English can receive the information they need in a language they understand.

Cell phones:  I am having better days not answering unknown calls attempting to scam me or sell me something I don’t want.  I have even learned how to program my phone so that I receive an alert when someone I want to hear from sends me a text.  I have been amazed by the response of many younger cell phone users to learn that they are not reading their text messages or emails. People who use their phones to make calls but not to receive calls.  And I am receiving recruiters’ calls and text messages all day.  They want to talk and learn about me so they can, as I call it, check off their boxes.  But how can they expect to talk to me when I am at work? And there are those who use me as their Google.  It seems they can Google their question, since this is often what I must do to answer it, but then they have the advantage that I will be more complete with the answer.

Use the calendar feature to enter things you are planning or need to be reminded about to do the next day or see it repeated daily until you complete that task.  Enter doctor’s appointments and other events.

When you enter a contact, enter the birthday of the contact.  This is a great feature that will tell you whose birthday or anniversary it is when you look at the day’s calendar entry.  You can search for an upcoming appointment if you have entered the appointment in your calendar.

You can enter contact information like your favorite recipe or hack.  So, I entered a list of my medications as a contact.  The contact is called Janine’s meds 2026.  In the note section, I enter the medications I take, the dosage, and the time of day the medication is taken.  When I go to the doctor and I am asked the medications I am taking, I go to the contact of my meds and can show the requestor what I am taking.  I have a contact with medical history, so I don’t have to remember the procedures and diagnoses and can also share that with the requestor easily.

Use your contacts to include sizes worn by your children. Include favorite colors, names, addresses, phone numbers of their schools, names of their friends, and their addresses and telephone numbers. I hope you find these suggestions ones that give you joy.  Let me know if you have tried any of these ideas.  Let me know what I can do to help you have joy.  Contact The Joyful Doctor, cell phone (414)581-1569, email address, perinatalcenter@aol.com.