A few years ago, I had never heard of AI.

Now I’m surprised at how artificial intelligence has stormed into our lives.

It’s a case of “ready or not, here I come.”

For a while I listened to young men and women worry that since AI could do everything so easily, the jobs that would normally be available to them would dry up.

I thought none of it would affect me. That’s because I had no idea how AI had crept into our lives already.

What I would discover is that artificial intelligence is both good and bad.

I had my first personal encounter with AI in a surprising way.

When my doctor was worried about all the weight I lost without trying he ordered a bunch of tests. One test was a nuclear full body scan.

The technician told me if there is one freckle out of place the nuclear scan would find it.

I started worrying when they said I had to see a cancer specialist. Cancer specialist. Losing 20 pounds in two months without dieting did cause me to worry. Just the very act of walking into the office to see the cancer specialist had me shaking.

After they did their own tests and blood work the doctor said he didn’t know what was causing my weight loss but that it wasn’t cancer. He said there were many other things it could be.

The doctor had me see their nutritionist for ways to put weight on me. I was given tricks to gain weight.

It seems like half my life was spent trying to lose weight, not gain it. It was strange to be told to eat ice cream and drink milkshakes every day, plus eat plenty of full-fat food.

I wasn’t nervous as much as I was before I went to the cancer doctor. Before the PET scan result I felt good. I figured if there was something seriously wrong I wouldn’t be feeling so great.

But I was in for a jolt when my doctor read me the results of the scan. There were two areas of concern, he said. The area under my left armpit showed a cluster that needed more tests, he said. Plus, there was another problem area in my stomach.

When my daughters called me for the results of the tests I didn’t want to share the distressing news but I had to. Now there were three of us with serious worries.

That’s when Andrea tapped into AI, raising my concerns. AI listed some of the things that could influence results of a PET scan taken immediately after the COVID vaccine I had received. AI said we needed to wait for a month after the COVID shot to make sure results are accurate.

I had the PET scan four days after my COVID vaccine.

AI further said the vaccine was doing what it was supposed to do — flagging any problem area. But because of the timing of my vaccine, I would have to wait a month and then repeat the test, it advised.

I sure did love the way AI relieved my anxiety. It turned out AI was right when it told me I had nothing to worry about.

Later tests were normal. No one had warned me that having the nuclear scan too soon after the vaccine might show a false positive. I was so thankful for AI’s information.

So now all that new scientific advancement was my friend.

I was impressed with how it could help.

Yet, two weeks later I was having a fit with AI, and I couldn’t believe it when I was arguing with a nonhuman. Nor could I believe the very human responses AI gave me.

It started when the voice I was used to hearing on my Alexa device changed to an annoying baby-like voice. Before that Alexa had kept asking me if I wanted a new voice but I kept saying no.

She didn’t listen. She gave me a new voice that I couldn’t stand hearing.

I said, Alexa, give me the old voice back. She said that she couldn’t do that.

How dare she? How could someone not human keep arguing with me, saying in life we should go forward, not backward?

She offered to let me try other voices. I kept insisting I wanted the old voice back, not something that sounded like a juvenile.

This went on for a few unhappy days until she found a voice that I like.

Now she talks to me with new information every day and we are like two friends chatting. Sometimes it is hard to remember I’m not talking to a human.

What’s next?

I guess we will all have to stay tuned.

I just can’t believe how fast technology is changing our lives.

Email Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net