Or Natural Intelligence. What AI overlooks and what we all overlook in our haste to make our lives easier, is that AI is not us. We are natural, we have natural intelligence. Why are we so eager to embrace the dumbification of our own selves?

A current mental health crisis is ChatGPT induced psychosis. Oh wow. What have we done to ourselves? When I studied science fiction for an English Literature degree in the 90’s it wasn’t meant to be a blueprint for the future. The fictional scenario described in Orwell’s 1984 wasn’t meant to be an instruction manual. Perhaps the very act of story-telling a future dystopia makes it unfold before our very eyes. Or the fact that humans are inherently greedy and stupid and we’re all doomed anyhow.

Phew, got that out of the way early. My point is that we’re currently being distracted by easy shiny things on our phones and forgetting the simple joys of being human. For despite all the horrors in the world, there is joy. It is acceptable to be happy, no matter what social media tells you.

A pivotal point in my menopausal musings was figuring out things that make me happy. They’re the simplest, most fleeting moments, easily overlooked if distracted or stressed. To ascertain the essence of simple pleasures I thought back to when I was a youngster and my passions then. That was riding my bike, making food for myself after cycling, and drinking bucketloads of mint tea. I’m not sure why, but the mint plant has always made me happy.

Maybe it was one of the first plants I grew, and subsequently harvested. It is the best starter plant for novices as it’s hard to stop when it gets growing. It’s also disease-resistant, has a long flowering period and is beloved by bees. So mint makes me happy. There’s no way AI could figure that out for me, or even provide me with mint. Having had my minty epiphany in 2020, I have been growing it and producing mint tea ever since (and avoiding reading sci-fi). Pure Leith mint tea is delivered by bike – a double win.

Riding a bike around Edinburgh makes me happy. It’s one of the reasons I stay in Leith, I can get pretty much anywhere easily. Back streets with little traffic and speed bumps are my favourite. Avoid bus routes using a Spokes cycle map to find the quiet streets. I love a good map. A proper-fold out map that you have to learn how to refold. I urge you to invest in a Spokes map of Edinburgh, you can lay auld reekie out on your kitchen table and plan adventures. Greenspaces are also marked. I like cycling between greenspaces on errands. It takes longer but is more fun. The only thing cycling isn’t good for is the current fashion for very floppy trews. I love baggy pants, but my voluminous trackies are a chain-catching hazard.

The other day I picked a red chilli off a plant and thought “AI cannae do that. Isn’t this clever?” It is nature that is intelligent, that has its own inherent knowledge. How a seed has all the information to grow into a plant, a chilli plant, and even in Scotland, bear fruit. How cool is that? How birds know when to migrate, the golden ratio that appears everywhere in nature, how wildflowers can spring up in earth disturbed by humans. AI cannae do that.

‘Celebrating nature’ is a seam running through the Andy Goldsworthy Fifty Years exhibition currently on at the National Gallery on the Mound (until 2 November). Goldsworthy’s art is based on interactions with earth, literally. It’s a wonderful exhibition with many of his pieces reminding us that we are bound to this earth. Book tickets online and go early on a weekday before it gets too busy. You’ll view art that AI cannae do, and hopefully it gets you thinking too.

The late great primatologist Dr Jane Goodall recorded these Famous Last Words, broadcast on Netflix: “I want you all to understand that each and every one of you has a role to play. You may not know it. You may not find it. But your life matters and you are here for a reason, and I just hope that reason will become apparent as you live your life…

Every single day you live you make a difference in the world and you get to choose the difference you make. I want you to understand that we are part of the natural world, and even today, where the planet is dark, there is still hope. Don’t lose hope.”

Nature is amazing and we are part of nature. So, by association, we are amazing. Be strong and follow your passions. Don’t ask AI’s permission. Be brave. But ultimately be yourself. There’s only one of you.

Bluesky: @tracygriffen

www.pureleith.com