Artificial Intelligence – Friend or Foe?
By: Obie Usategui
10/22/2026

Hello friends, well, as suggested by the name I have given to this narrative, today I will be writing on a topic, which, you might have noticed, is very much in vogue these days. I am talking of course about Artificial Intelligence or AI, the acronym that has been assigned to this very controversial subject.

First and foremost, what is AI, how do we define AI? Artificial Intelligence is defined as a branch of computer science and technology that enables machines, software, and computer systems to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. In layman’s lingo, AI are machines that can think just like humans, better.

With more time on my hands because of my health, I started a project to keep busy and will announce it in the next few days. For now, I will say only that it is a high-tech project requiring substantial computing expertise. I decided to rely on AI as my main source of information for it.

Notwithstanding my limited knowledge of computers, this project was well beyond my current level of know-how so, again, I decided to rely on Artificial Intelligence, as my main tool. Not as easy as you would think, considering that, nowadays, there is a four-year college degree necessary to consider yourself as qualified.

Anyways, for the past two months, I have dedicated myself to this project, and, by default, for the past two months, I have been going back and forth with Google’s AI mode in a way such as you would do with another human being, with a professor at college, and/or with a highly trained specialist in the particular subject-matter of my project. My so-called AI “chats” have been lengthy, complex, difficult, to say the least. I do not know if a real human could have put up with me.

Just to give you an idea, I could easily be chatting for one or two hours, non-stop. And here are my two cents on this subject. But before I do, however, remember I am dealing in a high, high-tech specialized field where you must have a considerable amount of expertise of the subject in order to offer any opinions. So…make a long story short, I started-off by asking AI simple questions. And, honestly, I was thrown back at the speed, the time in which my questions were aswered. No sooner had I finished posing a question, no sooner did I have my answers. Impressive to say the least.

As to the accuracy of the AI responses, here again, I was extremely impressed with what I saw. Ninety-nine out of one hundred questions posed, the answers were right-on-spot. Considering the intricacy on some of the questions, I was impressed to see the unique fastness with which I got my answers. And, again, answers were not simple, they happened to be extraordinarily complex. I could not believe that a computer could research a topic with quite the accuracy given on all the AI answers.

If there is one thing that became very, very clear to me after a few AI chats was the fact that the machines[s] that were doing the due diligence could do it in a way in which I doubt any human could, no matter how intelligent, no matter what. I can readily guarantee you, not even the smartest man on the planet, could research a subject at the speed I saw my AI respond.

But, what about accuracy? Well, in my case, I was dealing with how to use various complex and sophisticated online tools which I needed for my project. Believe me when I say they were complex and sophisticated. Yet, my AI was navigating the answers to every problem I presented, again, with considerable speed and considerable accuracy as well. Were all the answers 100% right? No, they were not. There were times, for example, when the AI gave me answers relative to old software, thus, I had to deal with some glitches. Anytime that I had to correct the AI on something, it would invariably tell me that I was right and apologized for their error – maybe excelling in way man cannot do it anymore.

So let me tell you how it all ended and my final verdict on the issue. Ironically, towards the very end of my project’s objective, I entered an extraordinarily complex issue, and AI was having problems giving me the answer as much as having given me quite a few alternatives to solve the problem. Towards the end, AI gave me several leads on what the problem could be and how to correct it. Ironically, none of the leads given worked, so what ended up happening, I took over and with the leads given and was finally able to complete the project on my own to absolute perfection. After two months of trials and errors, I had finally succeeded.

Based on my experience, this is my verdict. I consider AI, one of the most fascinating tools ever made by humans, no “ifs” or “buts” about it. AI is the way to the future, and I am sure also that AI will be a leading factor in guiding man’s destiny and future endeavors. I must admit, I have become addicted to where I consult everything with my AI tool in Google, to where I save my chats for future reference. Am I concerned, like democrats are of the role AI plays in our future, answer is, not in the least.

Back in the day, at the start, when computers were becoming fashionable, there were, as well, questions on how it would change the world, as some believed that computers were going to replace man and mankind. Of course, that did not happen and think about it, today humanity could succumb without computers. Today, we are all interconnected like we never thought possible.

If you look at AI, as well we did with computers, and had to balance the good and positive with the bad and the negative, I assure you the good and positive would outweigh the bad and negative. The most threatening thing about AI, as well as it happened with computers, is the infamous “substitution of man” by AI. And, I tell you, I think my little story above, in my example, you might have noticed that, yes, as much as AI helped me get through my project, as much as it was myself the one who ended up solving the problem, meaning, no matter how advanced AI can get, for all I know there will always be that final human touch, that human intelligence which will always supersede a machine. Man is and will always govern machines and not the other way around.

In ending, while I am not ready to make public what my project is all about, suffice it say, I wanted to, like they say, beat the system. I am talking about a specialty that has become one of the most lucrative businesses there are. As such, to get into it, like I said earlier, you even need a college degree. The demand is such that there are a zillion scavengers waiting to steal your money to complete a project such as mine, however doing so will cost you a pretty penny.

When I first started the objective was to do something at no cost – impossible, as everyone in the business is out to profit in doing it. Well, guess what? I won the battle and I was able to create something by using online tools and I was able to do it without spending a penny. I pad myself on the back as I thought this was an impossible task. No, I definitely could not have done it without AI’s immeasurable help, but…neither could AI.