Collier’s Cogitations: “AI is probably not taking over soon since your boss cannot even work their email”
- Brian S. Collier
- Aug 28
- 4 min read
Collier’s Cogitations: “AI is probably not taking over soon since your boss cannot even work their email”
August 29, 2025
by
Brian S Collier, Ph.D.
There is a lot of ‘buzz’ around Artificial Intelligence and whether or not it will take your job. Yes, your specific job!
Most people don’t need to really be afraid of this just yet, after all, many of us have bosses who cannot work their autoresponder or the apps on their phone, so they will not be in a hurry to outsource you to an automated process because they understand that if you are not necessary, fairly quickly someone might realize they, your boss is also not needed!
That being said, we should strive to learn more about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its capabilities. We should also not be afraid of it but rather seek to utilize it to make our jobs and lives easier.
To that end, we should also not allow humans to spread lies or misinformation about AI. We already have enough misinformation from AI, so we don’t need real humans who lack training in AI to suggest that AI cannot do certain things. Recently, in a serious local issue, South Bend Police Public Information Officer Ashley O’Chap, in an effort to excuse South Bend Police Officer violence and explain why the work takes so much time, nonsensically suggested that AI could not do the work that was needed. O’Chap clearly has no idea what she’s talking about because Google and Apple Maps do precisely the kind of redaction that is required daily. When public officials speak off the cuff about this kind of thing, it raises questions about their knowledge and biases on other matters, undermining their credibility and that of our community. One job that AI could do is spewing biased reports to the media designed to protect police officers rather than citizens. This appears to be a position currently held by O’Chap. I would welcome taking officer reports and letting AI do the biased job that O’Chap did just a week ago. This would save the city roughly $68,000 a year to start.
If we can’t get our officials to answer with the most intelligent thing a person can say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and report back,” we are doing a tremendous disservice to our town. The fact that O’Chap went on the offensive against AI is disheartening at best, especially because she was defending the use of violence on a child and the delays in the community learning more due to the necessity of salaried people having to work on the weekend. AI could have done this work without complaint. Still, of course, O’Chap is part of a publicity machine, one that often works to spread fear among citizens to garner additional resources for her branch of government and to protect the blue line, without thought to the red, white, and every other color in between on our flag.
The City Attorney’s Office recently displayed its own ignorance of AI and its capabilities at a South Bend Common Council meeting. City Attorneys and others arguing for higher fees for body camera footage demonstrated a lack of understanding about AI tools, using this as a means to secure their desired outcome and ensure that citizens were charged a higher fee for body camera footage. Advocates for a further tax on the poor, who want their rights upheld, suggested that AI could not redact the footage as accurately as humans. This is patently untrue, arrogant, and foolish. In fact, AI would make far fewer mistakes, and any time it did, it could quickly be retrained to avoid making that mistake in the future. In contrast, humans tend to get tired and change jobs, potentially making mistakes.
At present, it’s unclear whether those working for the Police Department and the City Attorney are ignorant or if they have forgotten that their primary role is not to protect the city, but rather to serve the citizens, without whom there is no city.
We are all harmed when those purporting to work in the interest of the public espouse things about which they know nothing.
Paid officials should work for the benefit of the citizens. When they argue to get their way and espouse nonsense or spread fear about AI, which is absolutely a part of the future and present, those officials do us all a disservice.
This piece is part of the social and political musings of the author. If you’d like to respond to any of the thoughts or ideas, please do so by writing info@redresssouthbend.com or posting comments in the social media sections of places you read these pieces.
© 2025 Brian S Collier. All opinions are those of the author. The author reserves all Rights and copyrights. To request permission to reprint any or all of this article, contact info@redresssouthbend.com.
Reprinted with permission of the author by Redress South Bend.
All opinions and views in this piece are attributed to the author and are not necessarily the thoughts or opinions of Redress South Bend.