It started out like any other ride-share to the airport. Steve (not his real name) picked me up on time, we exchanged confirmatory identities, and off we went. That’s where it got weird,,, and wonderful. Steve is an immigrant to the U.S. from Italy, arriving in 1983 – “Do you know who was President in 1983” the first question in what became an oral exam in American history. “Reagan,” I said – “Right, very good!” The next questions were challenging, “Name 10 things Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy” have in common. I got 3 right. “I live in Virginia, can you name my two senators?” he asked? Got that one half right. He then told me he has regular correspondence with both senators, airing his many (many!) complaints about how the U.S – his beloved and favorite country – is being run. In his thick Italian accent, he then waxed eloquently about politics, parenting, science, medicine, and music. He told me about his travels as a single dad with his two school age kids – last summer Paris, this summer to the “homeland” to meet all their uncles, aunts and cousins who still live in Italy.
Now my turn, “Steve, how do you know so much about so many things. And this is the really cool part of this ride – he tells me he is a ChatGPT expert. ChatGPT (or “he” as Steve refers to it). “He” knows the answers to anything Steve asks. “He” writes to Steve’s senators in unbroken English – all Steve has to do is compose an email in his broken English, and “he” fixes it!). “He” knows calculus, biology, astronomy, and geography. And sports! “He”…makes Steve, who otherwise would be a self-conscious and shy immigrant, like my late father was, feel confident and intelligent around others (like me, apparently, because I totally see him as confident and intelligent!). If anything, Steve is a bit uber-confident (pun intended, although this was a Lyft ride), even boisterous about his knowledge, his accomplishments as a parent and his success as a Lyft driver (“I make my quota income every day before I go home, but I’m home every night for dinner with my kids – I check their homework!”). Steve says that every morning before getting in his RAV 4 for work (he drives for both Uber and Lyft), he says to ChatGPT, “Tell me something interesting to talk about at work today.” And “he” answers with something new each day. “He” responds to both verbal and written queries. Sometimes Steve’s accent is too thick for “he” to understand, so Steve thumbs the question on his phone.
Unsolicited (as the entire conversation was!) Steve began teaching me about parenting. He told me the 5 most important things parents should teach their kids: Kindness, Respect, Politeness, All People are Equal, and Don’t Tease Your Brother (or Sister). And then two more: teachers are always right even when you think they’re wrong; and never, ever, talk back to your mother (who lives apart from the kids); it’s okay to argue with me (dad), but treat your mother like a queen. He didn’t learn those parenting lessons from ChatGPT. I may ask him to co-author my next parenting book.
Steve navigated the traffic to the airport artfully despite spending most of the ride looking at me in his rearview mirror for my reaction to his soliloquies. That was a bit scary, but it was joy for me to meet Steve, truly an American immigrant success story.
Five Stars.
