AI differing views, what are your thoughts? Oh...and we stayed halfway between Spokane and Coeur d'Alene
- Ann Fritz
- Oct 23
- 4 min read
Thanks for being here! I know we were on a roll there with weekly updates and then there was a loooooong break. We're still here!
Full disclosure: AI has been an assistant on some of our blog posts.
Chad and I have different views on using AI.
Chad is a big fan of using it to polish his blog posts and with that use, he was able to crank out some content week after week. He uses his own words, but then uses AI to kind of keep the same look and feel from post to post. Chad is a big proponent of using AI to make your workflows more efficient - not to replace people - just to make people more productive by using AI to do some mundane tasks that can bog one person down. ***He can speak more to this.***
I, on the other hand, have been very reluctant to use AI in a creative space. I like writing my own words and letting them be more "me". Since there are serious concerns in the voice acting world about AI voices being used instead of real live people to voiceover and narrate things, I have been hesitant to use it in other areas of my life. DO NOT BUY AUDIOBOOKS NARRATED BY VIRTUAL VOICE OR OTHER AI VOICES. Please and thank you.
I have converted to using ChatGPT instead of just Googling everything. I will admit, it is nice that it can converge a bunch of information for you instead of you clicking on twelve different links to have to research twelve different websites.
Can you trust it 100%? No.
We are big "trust, but verify" people.
One example: In my latest narration project, I tried to use it to summarize a script, so I would know how many different characters there were in the book. And it was COMPLETELY wrong. I had to redirect it to a Goodreads review in order for it to even be summarizing the correct book. I never really did get a straight answer to my "how many characters are in this book?" question. Maybe it was user error?
On the flip side, I am currently using a software service that is powered by AI, called Pozotron, that helps me proof my audio files compared to an uploaded pdf of my script. You upload the script, Pozotron analyzes it, then you upload your audio files and it compares the audio to the script to find any errors I've made in narration. I am loving it and it helps me get my narration out the door faster than if I would proof my own audio manually. It is an amazing tool and it is extremely accurate. It can even detect other sounds that you might not want in your book like coughs, wheezing, dogs barking, etc.
Chad has also been able to use different AI models to do some really cool vibe coding for work, and it has allowed Chad to create some innovative tools that help others be more productive in their jobs.
What are your thoughts? How do you use AI in your life? What are your concerns about what it can or cannot do? We would love to know!
Back to our travels!
Our beautiful drive from Eureka, MT brought us to Liberty Lake, Washington. This locale is pretty much equidistant from Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, which are cities we wanted to visit. Liberty Lake RV Campground is where we parked for a couple weeks and it seemed fairly new or at least recently updated. We were greeted to level, concrete sites, asphalt driveways throughout the park, and those two things right there are very nice! There was a pool, as well, but we rarely take advantage of that amenity, come to think of it. I guess we are not big "pool people", lol.
On the weekend of our arrival, we decided to drive over to Spokane. We parked along Riverfront Park and walked along the Spokane River. There is some powerful water coming through there! It makes sense that the Washington Power Company used the resource at hand. We ended up finding lunch at a seafood place (Anthony's Restaurant) that was right along the river, so we enjoyed the view while soaking in some nice weather and food.
Within walking distance of our RV park was Trailbreaker Cider. In our two week stay, we walked over for a bite to eat and a cider a couple times. They make a fairly good burger and also have live music on their patio fairly often. We are suckers for live music, so it made for an easy decision on those nights when we didn't have a plan for dinner!
The second weekend of our stay, we made the drive to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We also ended up parking near the waterfront and taking a walk along and around the Boardwalk Marina. We had brunch at Dockside Restaurant that is located inside The Coeur d"Alene Resort, and after brunch we walked along "one of the world's longest floating boardwalks" apparently. It was interesting. You could definitely feel that you were on a floating boardwalk versus solid ground. I'm glad we didn't partake in adult beverages at brunch; that would have made the walk a little too interesting.
We met another couple at our RV park that had just begun their full-time RV lifestyle a few weeks prior. Michelle and Jeremy sold their home in northwestern Washington and were visiting family in the Spokane area. They were very familiar with the area, so they suggested going to Arbor Crest Winery. There was live music and wine, so of course we were game. It was a lovely evening spent hanging out with people that we just met and we had some great conversations that night! I call that a win.
And because our Jeep needs to be mentioned every few posts, here's a pic with some new stripe decals that Chad added. We are fans of blue, so why not add a little accent to the Wrangler?
I have lots of thoughts about AI, as you might imagine! Obviously I dislike it greatly when students use it to do their assignments. I see it most at the intro level. But I also can see the uses in terms of efficiency. That's all good as long as it doesn't take jobs away from people! I'm all for ways in which to make work more efficient. I have used AI to generate titles for my essays...I'm so bad a titling! It gives me a bunch of suggestions and from there, I can craft my own.