do your own research . find your own answers

Answers to questions don’t arrive from just one point - they come from old wives’ tales, logic, inclement memory, books, statistical analysis, or Google or AI searches. And more.

Using only one source to find an answer is not a good idea. There is always bias.

The first question I got asked today. “Why do dogs eat grass?”. “So they can vomit” I said without thinking. Stupid answer. But why, I was asked again.

Like all of the small mysteries we encounter in life there is never just one answer. Nor does one source give us a full enough answer. Do your research.

Everything is a combination of something else. Another reason for us to live in communities and make decisions as a tribe. Another reason to protect our right to pursue a generous democracy.

Finding the question is often half of finding an answer.

Anyway. Most of our answers are either old wives tales, reached after a process of elimination, given to us by authority figures, statistically driven or (in our glorious modern age) searched by perplexity or some other AI engine - search engines always bring up an image of coal fired trains chuffing away.

Anyway.

So I asked my fav (power hungry bad for the sustainability of the earth), search engine about dogs vomiting. It answered:

Dogs eat grass for various reasons, including instinct, boredom, a need for fiber, gastrointestinal self-care, or simply because they like the taste, with no single definitive explanation applicable to all cases.

I am sure that a vet would add to that answer. And a dog breeder could chime in. And my own observations are worth noting. And there is never just one answer.

These big AI information gathering mammoths do not have all the answers but they are so convenient.

We pay for convenience you know.

The fact is that every search we drop into an AI assisted search like Chat GPT or Perplexity uses water. Water to cool the data storage. (Though I am sure there is more to that too). The exact figure can vary based on the data center’s location and efficiency. This is a rapidly changing technology. Everything is almost immediately out of date - however.

Some reports suggest that generating a 100-word response with ChatGPT-4 uses approximately 519 milliliters of water. That is two and a half cups.

Every time.

That is a lot of water going up in smoke to answer a question. And the answer has to be double or triple checked using other sources because AI is not always correct. There is an inevitable bias. And a lot more water used.

Ok. Let’s do an experiment. Let’s see how accurate an answer we get.

I will use up two and a half cups of water and search my name just to prove my point.

Cecilia Buyswheeler Gunther is a New Zealander who has had a diverse career as a high school drama teacher, film industry professional, and organic farmer, currently managing a sustainable farm in the U.S. and maintaining a blog about her experiences.

Huh. Well that is a surprise. The search popped up some good answers. All that is true. Though that is not all. All that is correct. And here are a few of the pictures that came up of me too!

Too funny! No idea who the kids are in the old picture but I might adopt them. And the pigs name was Manu.

Perplexity also gave me some links to find more pictures of myself which I thought was helpful. 😬

Ok that is not too bad I guess. We don’t expect AI to be current. But it hit a few pertinent facts. And did not prove my point at all!

Our lives are very transparent out there. So be careful what you share.

The environmental impact of these vast facilities is obvious. But how else do we do our research? There are options. Books are still good. Hoard the books, I say. Write stuff in your own notebooks. Libraries. Google. We still have good memories. Use them. Ask each other - here - now. Here on Substack - use this community of knowledgeable people. A community we have carefully collated.

Ask your elders. They know stuff!

I use AI to answer quick questions for us and to collect data, but not for writing my own words. No machine can write quite is dreadfully as me!

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Because AI is always behind on its data scraping; it did not mention that I also narrate books. I am reading for free for you right here too.

Go HERE 👇🏽 to read the latest chapters in The Blue Castle.

Things are looking up for Valancy she is moving out even further into the wild. Love that girl.

Have a great day/evening/night.

Celi