If you have ever heard that phrase used in advertising way back in the day, you are dating yourself badly. Well maybe not badly, but you definitely know what a tape recorder is and have probably used one, too. Memorex was a recording company that made tapes for all kinds of devices, and the whole gist of the ad was to see if a person could tell if it was a live performance or a tape recording.  

Now Ol’ Dutch could never really tell if the sounds were live then but now days, with the advent of A.I., you can't tell if anything is real. Just last week Miss Trixie had a friend from California stop by and it was interesting as I was telling her about how the neighbor uses A.I. to breed his cows.  

The look on this tech savvy, Silicon Valley living woman's face was priceless. And Ol’ Dutch could not understand why her face resembled that of a calf looking at a new gate until she finally blurted out. “How can Artificial Intelligence breed a cow?” Which then reversed our roles and Ol’ Dutch sat there as confused as a cult member thinking they had missed the end of the world.  

Finally, I was able to ascertain that this city woman had no idea that my A.I., or artificial insemination in this instance, was used on animals and even people way before that far off valley was filled with silicone. We had a laugh about that but that got Ol’ Dutch to thinking – a dangerous proposition in any world according to Miss Trixie. I began to ponder just where all this other A.I., or artificial intelligence, is leading us.  

Growing up, I was always fascinated reading Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines and dreaming along with the writers in those periodicals about the wonders that were sure to come in the not-too-distant future. We were promised George Jetson types of flying cars, new fangled homes that used no energy, clothes that cleaned themselves, food that magically appeared at the touch of a button and interstellar travel to the moon and beyond.  

And we did have a lot of fantastic things invented like the cell phone.  By and large, though, none of the truly fantastic promises ever came to fruition. Oh, we got the cell phone out of the deal, and it is pretty handy, but I am not sure it won't be the end of humanity in some way.  

Then came this new Artificial Intelligence. And while we are just on the cusp of seeing what all that will bring us, good or bad, the verdict is still out as far as Ol’ Dutch is concerned. Mostly all I see is people making all types of fake videos of dogs talking, cats walking and people falling. And that is such a great disappointment, too. And yes, they look so real that I have to admit that the technology is phenomenal, but it also has made Ol’ Dutch doubt about all that he sees online, as you cannot tell what is real or not.  

Edgar Allen Poe, who suffice it to say, wrote a lot of “stuff,” said it best when he first formulated the adage “believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear.” Which works out pretty well for Ol’ Dutch as I can't hear much anyways. 

So be careful out there as this A.I. use is only beginning, and it appears that pretty soon we won't be able to tell if it's a Live or Memorex moment assaulting our senses. But rest assured, if it's a video of Santa Clause, that's as real as it gets. Never doubt the old Elf.  

Kevin Kirkpatrick spends his days fishing, hunting, ATVing, hiking or making people laugh. His email is Kevin@TroutRepublic.com. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.