I wonder who I am. Beyond my usual existential angst, I tried to access some online learning modules at work only to have so many barriers thrown up that I couldn’t log in. Largely it’s because I have an online presence (be it ever so humble) outside of work. Verification software wants to send codes to my personal email and my company has a policy against running personal emails on work computers. Then they want to send a phone verification, but I don’t have a work cell. I don’t need one and I have no desire to carry around two all the time because I barely use the one I have. By the way, my cell does seem to recognize me most of the time, so maybe I should ask it who I am.
Nevermore.
" data-orig-size="1092,712" data-image-title="PastTenses" data-orig-file="https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/pasttenses.jpg" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-medium-file="https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/pasttenses.jpg?w=300" data-permalink="https://steveawiggins.com/2011/08/18/last-rites/pasttenses/#main" alt="" class="wp-image-3622" data-large-file="https://sawiggins.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/pasttenses.jpg?w=1020" />Frustrated at the learning module, I remembered that we’d been asked to explore ChatGPT for possible work applications. I’d never used it before so I had to sign up. I shortly ran into the very same issue. I can’t verify through my personal phone and I found myself in the ironic position of having an artificial intelligence asking me to verify that I was human! I know ChatGPT is not, but I do suspect it might be a politician, given all the red tape it so liberally used to get me to sign in. Not that I plan to use it much—I was simply trying to do what a higher-up at work had asked me to do. So now my work computer seems to doubt my identity. I don’t doubt its—I can recognize the feel of its keyboard even in the dark. And the way my right hand gets too hot from the battery on sweltering summer days. It’s an unequal relationship.
My personal computer, which isn’t as paranoid as the work computer, seems to accept me for who I say I am. I try to keep passwords secure and complex. I have regular habits—at least most days. I should be a compatible user. I don’t want ChatGPT on my personal space, however, since I’m not sure I trust it. I did try to log into the learning module on my laptop but it couldn’t be verified by the work server (because the computer’s mine, I expect). Oh well, I didn’t really feel like chatting anyway. But I did end the day with a computer-induced identity crisis. If you know who I am, please let me know in the comments. (You’ll have to authenticate with WordPress first, however.)