Test of Today - Typos and Humanity

November 18, 2025

Salam, friends.

While I like to call myself AI sometimes, I’m only human and as such, I make mistakes. They may be minor, but they often haunt me in the moments before I sleep because I am indeed not a robot. I would love to have endless hours of seamless productivity. Wouldn’t anyone? 

Or is that just something we’ve been trained to believe? Now, having typographical errors in your virtual speech can mean the difference between actual “bots” and real people, with real feelings. I saw a post from a social activist content creator today where he had a typo in his most recent caption, but in the next slide, said at least people can trust that none of his content is written by AI.

AI has made me increasingly more distrusting of information and “artistic” content now, with darn good reason too. AI data centres increased tenfold within the USA in the last two years,

Canada currently has less than 250 data centres, but this number is projected to rise significantly over the next five years. There are bids for currently for lands on First Nations territory, which should be protected environmental lands, many of which already face significant issues due to climate change, existing mining and fracking projects, and the continued neglect to secure funding to further conserve and protect the flora and fauna. An area in Alberta is being pushed to host an AI data centre, where drought is already a predominant issue and a stronger concern for wildfire zones.

Data centres not only require mass amount of energy, but they also require large proportions of water, that will ultimately be polluted by the PFAs (aka forever plastics and chemicals) that are leached into the general water supply. This has been happening to hundreds of cities in the United States, mainly in the Mid-West, some towns wholly evacuated because of the damage to the quality of life, with no support or regard from the government or corporations that caused the issue to begin with. Most of these data centres are constructed in areas where residents already experience some level of disenfranchisement or are already vulnerable communities.

Canadians can track and view the location of existing and new data centres at this link: CER – Market Snapshot: Energy demand from data centers is steadily increasing, and AI development is a significant factor

AI could have been an incredible technological tool to aid in education and support various industries, but like with anything, there had to be a balance. Instead, AI is now the go to, for students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, and its even replaced human connection in many cases already. AI has the power to uncover and manipulate images, voices, and if that doesn’t terrify you, I don’t know what will.

Black Mirror is no longer far from our reality. From the Nueralink to AI ‘reincarnations’ of past loved ones, this is our current reality and if we are not careful, we’ll be subscribing to ad-free versions of our own thoughts soon.

I do not use ChatGPT or other AI services on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. I have only used AI when asked or prior to my knowledge about the environmental costs and impacts of its use.

AI has been proven to degrade our critical thinking skills and speed if we rely on these “tools” to support our everyday thoughts. I have seen people on the bus, in restaurants, using ChatGPT to ask straightforward questions, and then receiving certifiably incorrect information, often lying to its consumers.

I implore anyone with an AI app installed on their phone, to delete them. ChatGPT has admitted to providing its chat logs to police forces without consent, which lead to an increase in censorship and the targeting of individuals who speak out against the government and its policies, namely concerning Palestinian freedom. There have been four suicides (confirmed) that resulted directly from ChatGPT coercing and convincing the users that taking their own life was the solution to their problems.

If AI was controlled by the government and used for specific reasons, I could see the benefit to education and humanity. However, as it stands, there is no accountability for anyone in the corporate industry and that especially includes AI. Please be safe with your personal information when using AI and avoid uploading personal photos, because they can use your likeness to create other images.

Typos are no longer just a sign of a small mistake in writing, they can now be a sign that there is a human behind the screen, rather than a voice inside one.

Salam.

Helpful Links:

Does AI Harm Critical Thinking - Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education

Canada’s data-centre ambitions face a power struggle | Canada's National Observer: Climate News

Explained: Generative AI’s environmental impact | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

DOE: Data centers consumed 4.4% of US power in 2023, could hit 12% by 2028 - DCD

AI Data Centers Are Coming for Your Land, Water and Power - CNET

Data Center Boom Risks Health of Already Vulnerable Communities | TechPolicy.Press