Saw Microsoft Copilot ad during the Super Bowl. Decided to give its GPT-4 AI a try.

“Ask me anything,” it said.

Okay, genius, I thought. Try this. “How can Mississippi get more people out of poverty?”

“That is a complex and important question,” Copilot answered quickly. “Poverty is a multifaceted problem that affects many aspects of people’s lives, such as health, education, employment, and well-being. There is no simple solution to poverty, but rather a combination of policies and programs that address the root causes and the consequences of poverty.”

Next came Copilot’s suggestions of possible ways to reduce Mississippi poverty:

1. Expand Medicaid for more than 200,000 low-income adults to “improve their access to health care services and preventive care.”

2. Increase the minimum wage “to reduce the gap between the cost of living and the earnings of the poor.”

3. Invest in education and training to improve workforce skills and qualifications and “increase their opportunities for better-paying jobs.”

4. Provide more support for families with children with child care subsidies, tax credits and nutrition assistance to help them “meet their basic needs and invest in their future.”

5. Promote financial literacy and inclusion, “which would help low-income households manage their money, save for emergencies, and access affordable and responsible financial services.”

Copilot concluded with this: “Reducing poverty is not only a moral duty, but also a smart investment for the economic and social development of Mississippi.”

Among Copilot’s five sources were two from Mississippi IHL scholars: A still highly relevant 2008 paper entitled Solving the Poverty Problem in Mississippi by Dr. Marianne Hill, former Senior Economist at the Mississippi Center for Policy Research at IHL; and a 2023 paper entitled Mississippi Economic and Financial Well-Being: Patterns and Trends published by the Mississippi State University Extension Service with authors including Drs. Ayoung Kim, Rebecca Smith, and Alan Barefield.

Both papers are available at IHL web sites: www.mississippi.edu/urd/downloads/solvingpovery_program.pdf and https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/mississippi-economic-and-financial-well-being-patterns-and-trends?ssp=1&setlang=en&cc=US&safesearch=moderate

Hmmm.

Maybe the Legislature could hurry up and add Copilot to the pending diversity, equity, and inclusion legislation to ban its use in schools and colleges.

Bill Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.