Have I Mentioned How Much I Hate AI?
In the interest of full disclosure; this is a rant that has some racing content, but the main topic does not have a ton to do with IndyCar or motorsports in general. You’ve been warned.
Anyone who has read this site for very long, knows that I despise change. In case you didn’t know, my credo in life is Change is Bad. To me, there is nothing better than a good rut. I like going to the same Chinese restaurant. I go through the same washing routine in the shower every morning, while listening to the same sports talk radio station each day. I enjoy driving home the same way every day. It drives me crazy to hear someone say they like to take a different way home every once in a while, just to spice things up. Why on earth would anyone want to do that?
Now if there is a good reason to make a change, I’m all for it. After owning a flip-phone for years, I was an early adapter to the iPhone. In fact, I had the very first iPhone, when it made its debut in 2007. I saw a need for change and I didn’t think twice. I am not one to get the latest and greatest. Since 2007, I’ve owned only five iPhones. I’ve had the original iPhone, iPhone 5, iPhone 6, iPhone 11 and currently the iPhone 17. I imagine it will be five or six years before I get my next one. Why? Change is Bad.
A year ago, I made the jump from being a lifelong user of Windows PC at home to a Mac. While I abhor change, I also recognize an improvement – especially with how well it integrates with my other Apple devices.
I say all this to point out that I don’t always refuse to change, but I need a very good reason before ever doing it.
Right now, we are under assault and being forced to make a change, whether we want to or not. I’m talking about Artificial Intelligence or AI. Remember back in the early 2000s, when high-definition television was becoming all the rage? Suddenly companies found a way to incorporate the term “HD” into everything they made. HD television, HD radio and HD paint were found everywhere. I remember the late Justin Wilson drove a car sponsored by HD Furniture.
Would it surprise anyone reading this that I despise AI? I despise it so much, I’ve decided to devote a rant on this site to it. I know that there will be some to tell me how foolish and old I am, and how AI will improve our lives immensely. But many of you will agree with me, and will probably point out better examples than I have to prove the point.
Nowadays any company that has any sort of web-based presence has to have an AI component. Even my doctor uses AI in putting notes into my chart. Companies are trying to make AI sound sexy. I find it totally annoying.
I am aware of many of the potential dangers with AI, how entire sentences can be created using my voice to sound like me. That’s scary to think about how I could be accused for saying something I never said, but a recording of what sounds like my voice can be produced at a moment’s notice. That’s pretty hard to disprove.
But on a day to day basis, I just find AI annoying. Convincing videos of events that never happened are popping up all over the internet now. I don’t know how many times I have seen a video of a cruise ship slamming into a dock and sinking, before realizing it’s AI.
You don’t know what to believe anymore. About a year ago, I simply asked ChatGPT to “create a photo of George Phillips with Oilpressure.com”, just to see what would come out. This is what it produced, and I don’t see much resemblance. Even if you’ve never met me, you can probably tell this doesn’t look much like me. This is an example of bad AI.
But after this past May, I submitted this selfie I took on Race Morning from the grid, just before the race.
Then I asked Gemini (Google’s AI) to create a picture with me and Jennifer Anniston. This one looks remarkably real – so much so, I sent it to a friend of mine who totally believed I had posed with her. I eventually told him the truth. What is interesting about that photo is that it took me, and changed my expression and background.
Oddly enough, Susan did not find this photo humorous at all. AI pretty well negates the selfie as proof that you met someone famous and posed with them. Who can believe you, when you have the ability to produce something like that in about fifteen seconds?
This was pretty convincing AI, except I doubt the real Jennifer Aniston would lovingly place her hand on me. But there is so much bad AI passed off as real, it is beginning to be a problem. I don’t consider myself to have a real keen eye for detail, but apparently some people on Facebook barely look at a photo before accepting it as real. Just this past weekend, I came across this photo on Facebook of someone supposedly famous (although I had never heard of her) stepping off of a private jet. No one in the comment section noticed that the jet must’ve been missing a wing, since it was parked right up against a rock wall that is clearly visible below the fuselage.
Now “historic” photos are being created and passed off as newly-discovered, when in fact some kid created it through AI. I can’t count how many “shocking” photos from the Titanic I’ve seen recently. However, a closer look shows an oar handle in the water, with the blade of the oar inside the lifeboat. Or you notice that each survivor in the lifeboat all have the exact same face, or maybe they have a third hand. Yet if you read all of the comments, everyone is sucked in by the never-before-seen historic photo.
I’m now starting to see these “historic” photos from the Indianapolis 500. I’ll have to admit I’ve been sucked in to these. One was of the Marmon Wasp on-track, but something just didn’t look quite right. Then I noticed that the seat was more of an enclosed cockpit and the supposed Ray Harroun was wearing a six-point full harness. If someone says ‘Hey, look what I created using ChatGPT”, then that’s fine. It’s when they try to pass it off as a rare photo, that I get riled up.
In this political season, both sides have accused each other of creating “incriminating” photos and videos of a candidate doing something or saying something that they never did. I fully believe both have, and probably included some tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the screen that AI was used for illustrative purposes. It’s frightening to think that the same technology can be used to put words in a dead person’s mouth, when they are no longer around to defend themselves.
AI does have its place, however. I have found two or three different uses. One is for quick information. The other is to clean up and/or colorize old photos. The best example for colorizing is this picture of me and my father in 1967, when I was nine years-old.
Not only did it do a nice job of adding color to the photo that was originally black and white – it even got the color of my shirt right. It’s scary to think that my father was 41 in that photo. I’m now 68.
But even colorizing or clearing up photos has its drawbacks. There was a photo taken in 2013 of Susan and me at a wedding. Whoever took the photo had there camera on an odd setting, the the photo was obviously very cloudy or hazy looking for some reason.
I asked AI to clear it up. As you can see, it did a nice job of clearing up the photo. But for some reason, it decided on its own that there needed to be more candles and a table added behind us. Why???
The worst about AI, however, is when people use it for e-mails or articles. It insults my intelligence when I get an e-mail through work from someone I know. It is so obvious when they use AI to write the e-mail, because it does not sound like them at all. It’s way too polished.
A couple of years ago, I had a co-worker in her 30s bragging on how she used AI all the time. She was telling me how I should get with the times and use AI to write my articles for this site. It was two days after the Mid-Ohio race. To prove her point she spoke into her phone, telling ChatGPT to write an article about Sunday’s IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio. It spat out the most lifeless and generic write-up on the race. It didn’t necessarily have anything wrong, but it just regurgitated facts with no opinion behind it. I told her that the reason people come to my site is to get my take, or my perspective; as wrong as it might be at times. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
So to give an example of what I’m talking about, I asked Gemini to write me an article about AJ Foyt Racing signing Josh Pierson for the 2027 season. This is what it spat out.
From Endurance Prodigy to Open-Wheel Premier: Josh Pierson Signs Multi-Year Deal with AJ Foyt Racing
AJ Foyt Racing has officially signed 20-year-old American talent Josh Pierson to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The multi-year agreement completes an all-new driver lineup for the legendary outfit, pairing Pierson with 2026 IndyCar Rookie of the Year Dennis Hauger. The move marks a major transition for the team as it prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of A.J. Foyt’s historic fourth Indianapolis 500 victory.
A Record-Breaking Foundation
At just 20 years old, Pierson brings a depth of experience rare for a driver entering his rookie IndyCar season:
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- World Endurance Championship (WEC): At 16 years and 119 days old, Pierson earned a Guinness World Record as the youngest driver ever to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- Sports Car Excellence: Holds an FIA Gold rating, with race wins and podium finishes spanning LMP2 in WEC, the Asian Le Mans Series, and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
- Indy NXT Breakthrough: Showed formidable speed in the feeder series. At the Milwaukee Mile, he set the fastest qualifying run in Indy NXT history to grab pole position. He backed up that speed at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca by qualifying on pole, leading every lap, and securing a victory.
Earning the Seat
Pierson’s path to the No. 4 Chevrolet was solidified following an extensive evaluation process. After completing private testing runs, Pierson officially passed his IndyCar licensing test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
“Few drivers at his age have his depth of experience, and his maturity and work ethic are remarkable,” said Larry Foyt, President of AJ Foyt Racing. “Over the past year, he impressed us in multiple tests… I believe in Josh, and we’re excited to be part of his continued development.”
Looking Ahead
Pierson will make his official NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut at the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Joined by Dennis Hauger, Pierson anchors a youth-driven era for AJ Foyt Racing aimed at keeping the team consistently competitive at the top level of American open-wheel racing.
“Being a part of AJ Foyt Racing, a team with incredible history, means the world to me,” Pierson shared. “I’m excited about what Larry and the entire team are building for the future.”
As you can see, there are a lot of facts and flowery wording. But it’s more like reading a generic press release than someone conveying their thoughts about it.
As a tool to correct photos, AI has its place. As a quick finder of info, like “What Nashville store has Cokes on sale this week?”, AI has its place. I’m sure there are business applications where AI has its place, although I hear a lot of people complaining that their company has started using AI and it has screwed everything up with customers.
But when people create articles, photos and videos that are completely false, but try to pass them off as genuine – that’s where I am getting fed up with AI. The frustrating thing is, many times you can’t tell the difference. These days I could be looking at a spectacular photo that could be genuine, but I’ve gotten so skeptical that I assume it is AI and completely ignore it.
So just in case you were wondering – I have never and will never use AI on this site. Besides, AI probably uses much better punctuation than what you’ve seen here for almost eighteen years. Thank you for giving me the chance to rant.
George Phillips
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