You may be aware that "ChatGPT" and related bots have stirred plenty of attention lately. You can find articles that say the existence of this smart bot is the beginning of the destruction of humanity, of democracy, of education. People who know have repeated that the machine isn't that smart and that we shouldn't waste our worry on it. Find something else to worry about.
I have written before about Daniel M. Russell, a Google engineer who is the author of "The Joy of Search". He runs a group that receives challenges from him, things like what is the name of the third king of Swaziland? Personally, I have an alternative joy of search but not from artificial topics. What I find much more pleasant is the use of Google or Duckduckgo to find out about things that come to mind or I read about that I want more information about. My interest is more along the line of Prof. Sam Weinburg's book "Why Learn History When It Is Already on Your Phone?" My problem with that title and subject is that it is cast in overly limited terms. I prefer something like "Why Learn Anything when Everything is Already on Your Phone?"
I try to advocate for searching any topic of interest: your mother, your bank, your auto, your local police force, how your nephew is doing at college, etc., etc. Go to Google or other search 'engine' and explore whatever topic is puzzling, or unknown or of interest.
Caution: the fact that Google can answer questions of interest doesn't mean YOU can. You become a different person over time when aging and becoming educated. Dont' assume that your phone can substitute for your mind. It can't.
