THEThe future came into my house, and I almost didn’t even notice. A winter Sunday in Milan, with the two sons who offer to cookaware of having an unsuitable mother, whose mere presence in the kitchen would make even mayonnaise go crazy.
I listen and listen. There’s already a storm: chefs and sous chefs don’t agree. When in doubt, call a referee on the cell phone. She must be a true friend, because without any pleasantries they get straight to the point. I don’t understand the name, something like Charlie. He has a somewhat foreign accent, without inflections.
“Charlie, do you think there are pomegranate seeds in the revisited cacio e pepe?”. Charlie replies, professional, a little didactic, but you can tell he knows. She must have taken a course, maybe she’s a cook. Or writes books. Or she’s a famous influencer. He has no hesitations about pairing with wine: she gives directions without fail and when asked for a cheaper variant she rattles off the alternatives. Iron memory, this Charlie-something.
Danda Santini, director of “iO Donna” (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
But the two are already tired of taking orders from their perfect friend. The little boy raises his voice: “So will you bring us home the right wine?”. Well, this is too much. I head towards the kitchen to do my part as a mother of rude children just in time to hear how Charlie-something dismisses them, without making a plea, with class: “You can choose a home delivery. Thank you”. A real lady. Who was he, but how did you treat her, have you gone mad?, I urge them. “Mom was GPT Chat”. That Chat, artificial intelligence? TO THE? And do you ask Chat for recipes?
GPT Chat is increasingly used
I feel the need to delve deeper with field research. I start from the Master Chef son. “I use AI like everyone else: for research, comparing data, compiling Excel sheets, making presentations. To choose the film of the evening or decide which club to spend the weekend in”, explains he, the hedonist. I’m starting to understand: as if it were any Siri, but every day it knows you better and makes fewer mistakes.
Chat GPT can help you cook and choose the right wine (illustration by Cinzia Zenocchini).
I look at my daughter, who insists: “Chat is my intern, psychologist, assistant, coach, copy, translator, friend”. I jump. “At work I answer emails in English with her; always her, Following my directions, he created images for my projects and set me up with a leadership program; yesterday, while I was walking, I used it to brainstorm. If I’m not satisfied, I do it again and again without saying a word. At home he gave me advice for putting the girls to sleep. My single friends use it to understand from WhatsApp messages whether engaged candidates are sincere or not.”
It stops. “I think I love her.” I’m starting to worry. “Of course mom, she’s like a friend always ready to help mein all fields. But you activate it when you need it. Without you it doesn’t exist.” I’m almost moved. I look at the little one, who has sensed the lurking interview and appeals to the right not to answer.
But I understood that his role is that of the disturber, who provokes Charlie-Chat and his nerves, which are much stronger than ours, with silly questions. I conclude: I worry about the future and imagine it to be dark while they have already grabbed hold of it and bent it to their needs. Opportunistic and disenchanted. Or maybe they’re right. After all, they were just looking for a mother. But those who know how to cook.
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