The things that AI will never tell you

As a seasoned traveller, I know an awful lot about flying through Heathrow Airport, and it is always frustrating me about how the airport is structured. By way of example if you land at Heathrow terminal 4 and 5, the newer terminals, they have on-site hotels, the Hilton and Sofitel respectively. However, if you land at terminals 2 and 3, the older terminals, there are no on-site hotels. In fact the hotels are very difficult to access because it involves either getting a bus or a taxi, where the taxi driver bitches and moans about the fact that you’ve got him going to a hotel for a five minute drive and he’s lost his place in the queue.

Therefore, I was delighted to discover a life hack, which is to stay at a hotel near Hatton Cross underground station. It’s a one stop tube ride from Heathrow terminals 2 and 3, and then you’re back in the airport in just five minutes.

Yet I then discovered a few other issues of doing it that way. For example, the road system for pedestrians around Hatton Cross is really bad, as it has barriers everywhere that you have to walk around and zero pedestrian crossings.

Then, when you go back to Hatton Cross tube station, the Piccadilly line takes you to either terminal 4 or terminal 5 as the ultimate destination, via terminals 2 and 3 ... but there is a catch in this system. The catch is that if you take the train to terminal 4, you will go there first and then be stuck there for about ten minutes before it moves on to terminals 2 and 3. If you take the tube to Heathrow Terminal 5, it stops at terminals 2 and 3 first and there is no wait.

I could give many more examples, but here are just two more by way of example.

First, if you’re in terminal 2 at Heathrow there is always a queue at the pay station at duty-free. Always. But there are two pay stations. The first one is by the alcohol and cigarettes, and is always really busy. The second station is on the other side in the cosmetics area, and is usually empty. Go there and you’ll get through much faster.

A final thought is a very specific one. If you happen to get into the Lufthansa business lounge in terminal two, you’ll find out that they hide the cutlery. If you need a knife and fork it’s next to the cereals at the cereal bar, rather than being situated next to the hot food. Don't ask me why.

These are just a few of the tips and tricks you learn through life experiences and could never discover through a quick online tool ... or are they?

It may be true that these are secrets you can only find out through life experiences but the thing is that, now I’ve told you all the secrets of travelling through Heathrow, no one will ever know except you, me … and ChatGPT. As a result, you will now be able to ask “what’s the best way to get through Heathrow terminal two and to stay on a layover at Heathrow terminal two and three” through a quick search, and this blog entry will probably reply via Google Gemini or Microsoft’s ChatGPT.

In other words, what was specific knowledge has become general knowledge, and AI now knows everything. Nothing is secret anymore.

But then equally, the only reason AI knows this is because I shared it. You must have human input to create artificial intelligence. There's something in this thought process that AI can only replicate but cannot generate, because AI does not have any life experience. Take note.