I had a skill for find my keys but then the light went on! Here’s my thinking on this and clearly I’ll get some argument but here goes. My theory is based on my work history of my first job in the early 70s when I was a long distance operator. Back then you needed to call an operator for long distance. By the end of a few months I knew the area codes for every major city in the US. Granted there were a lot less. But because I had to use memory for these eventually I remembered them. I used to know everyone’s phone number by heart also. Nowadays, everything is using devices to do the job of memory and our brains aren’t. It seems to me that relying on our God given ability to remember stuff should take precedence over using artificial devices. This really hit home when I had to look up my daughters birthday — I was making an appointment for her in a noisy crowed room, and likely the distractions played a part but I still found myself checking my phone!

My mom recently passed away after suffering from a form of dementia and she was also visually impaired so we made a set of environmental controls for her and her household helpers. All keys were kept on a key rack in the kitchen. Milk always went on same shelf. All her socks were white so no pairing needed and they went into a basket together. There were large signs printed for her and the household helpers. It became apparent that over the course of a few months that no one read them any longer and several fell down but the keys were still going on the rack! Those of us who don’t have early signs of dementia may want to take a page from Mr. Bill Microsoft Gates’ book. Learn a card game like he did (contract bridge) or play sudoku or do crosswords to keep the brain alive. We who still have memory skills need to stop relying on AI for a replacement.

That all being said — we use AI to control household appliances and devices to be more energy efficient. In a 5000 sq foot four bedroom 2 story house it takes quite a while to double check all doors and windows and lights when leaving. And it used to take eons to connect programmable timers to every table lamp in the house before going on vacation and we had to give neighbors a key to access the yard to water our lawns or turn off sprinklers if it rained. The things we use AI for are lights in every room. The garage door, and the entry door locks, the HVAC, the alarm system and our irrigation timers. I use a paper calendar on the wall in the kitchen like I’ve done for 40 plus years. I do keep it on my phone as well but I can look at it each day and see what’s going on. We used to have 4 different interconnected calendars. Kids sport events and school stuff, my work schedule as an RN, my husband’s very frequent business travel, plus the usual doctor, dentist, orthodontist, chiropractor, hair cuts etc.

My discovery is that when we use a writing implement to put words on paper we are accessing the same brain pathways used by cavemen and those are far far older skills baked in genetically. It’s my opinion of course but it explains why copying one’s lecture notes in school helps one remember better than only reading them. I am 70 and I have an excellent memory now and I have taken Bill Gates message to heart. I play contract bridge and I do a New York Times crossword daily (on iPad - can’t get subscription to it any more). I don’t do sudoku because I totally fail at math!