I use AI in my work as a machinist/CNC programmer on a weekly if not a daily basis. It's primary advantage for a while has been it's crazy breadth of knowledge

I use AI in my work as a machinist/CNC programmer on a weekly if not a daily basis. It's primary advantage for a while has been it's crazy breadth of knowledge which it can present in a human, flexible form. But perhaps we excuse this as Generally Knowledgeable not Generally Intelligent. But with the most recent models I'm finding the intelligence harder to deny. They are now catching errors and false assumptions unprompted and with regularity and providing reliable feedback and criticism. Gemini 2.0 can now read prints usefully, if not perfectly and has caught multiple print errors missed by the engineers and experienced machinists alike. It provides valuable feedback and criticism and frequently interjects when it thinks I'm barking up the wrong tree. The newest models have gotten quite good at asking for clarification rather than leaning into assumptions. Now it's certainly not the smartest. It's creativity is mediocre and it's lack of practical experience is apparent. But thats understandable, as _it's never machined a day in it's life_. It's merely studied what's been written. Sure, hallucinations and the like are still a thing (though they've been cut down drastically). And the creativity is quite mediocre. But it seems a lot more intelligent than some of the burnouts coming out of trade schools.