There’s no other way to describe it than a black cloud. It was so close to my face that I couldn’t make out what it was … at first.

 I realized soon enough, however. The buzzing gave it away and then the attack. They were on my forehead, my hands, my legs, all over me. I waved my arms frantically to disburse them and swatted at those already stinging me. I leapt from the golf cart I had driven to the edge of the woods to dump sticks Carol had picked up earlier from the lawn. All I could think of was getting away from the swarming yellow jackets and brushing off those that had landed on me.

I yelled to my son, Ted. He quickly assessed the situation and raced to the house to get a beach towel that he waved vigorously as I stumbled toward him. The farther we got from cart, the fewer the yellow jackets.

Fortunately, I was wearing trousers and a long-sleeved shirt with a fleece vest. I shed the vest and the wasps imbedded in it. Ted waved off those still circling me. I was free, but I was burning with stings. There had to be 20 of them, if not more, mostly on my hands, forehead and below my left eye. My skin was spotted red, yet remarkably there were no welts.

Carol was alarmed. Was I short of breath? Was my heart racing?

No, but I felt like I was on fire.

I was fearful of entering the house, thinking yellow jackets might be clinging to my clothing, or worse found their way inside my clothing. Carol conducted a quick search for Benadryl but found none. The episode was short, and other than the stinging that lasted until the following afternoon, things returned to normal.

It also took me on a visit to Gemini, Google’s AI program that Barbara Polichetti, former longtime Providence Journal reporter now doing stories for the Beacon and Herald, loaded on my cellphone. She uses it for research and it occurred to me AI might have something to say about yellow jackets that I personally hadn’t learned the hard way.

Over breakfast the following morning Ted, Carol and I, but mostly Ted, speculated how AI would change the world; how it has already spawned new companies, eliminated jobs and expedited production.

“It’s out of the bag, it’s already here,” he said analyzing how AI  has changed his legal business, reducing and even eliminating the use of assistants to research cases and write summaries. What he believes critical is reviewing the information generated so as to evaluate whether AI has taken the scope of the issue into consideration. Knowing what to ask AI to perform can dramatically alter the output. What Ted ponders is whether, as we increasingly rely on artificial intelligence and as generations evolve, will there be those who understand AI is a tool.

He was convincing. Could AI tell me why yellow jackets are so prevalent and aggressive at this time of year? I already understood why they attacked me and to stay away from their nests.

I crafted a prompt. Hardly 15 seconds later, I had more information on my tormentors than I expected. In short, here’s a digest – and probably more than you care to know – of what I learned:  

“A yellow jacket colony starts with a single queen in the spring. Throughout the summer, her population of workers grows, reaching its maximum size in late summer. A single nest can have thousands of wasps, which means there are more yellow jackets foraging and defending the nest.

“During the spring and early summer, yellow jacket workers primarily hunt other insects like caterpillars and flies to feed the developing larvae in the nest. This makes them beneficial predators. (Not what I expected; yellow jackets beneficial?) However, as the season progresses, the need for protein declines and the colony's diet shifts to one rich in sugars and carbohydrates.

 “At the same time their food needs are changing, natural sources of nectar and other insects are becoming scarcer. This makes them desperate for food and more likely to seek out human food and drinks, such as soda cans, fruit or picnic fare. This desperation makes them more aggressive and more likely to sting.

“For most people, a yellow jacket sting is painful but not life-threatening. The pain, redness and swelling usually subside within a few hours to a few days.

“However, a yellow jacket sting can be fatal for people who are allergic to the venom. A severe allergic reaction, known as anaphylaxis, can occur rapidly and may include symptoms such as: difficulty breathing or swallowing; dizziness and weakness; hives and itching; swelling of the face, tongue or throat; a drop in blood pressure leading to shock.

 “Unlike honeybees, a yellow jacket can sting multiple times without losing its stinger. Also, a yellow jacket's venom contains an alarm pheromone that can signal other yellow jackets to join the attack. If you accidentally disturb a nest, it's best to calmly and slowly walk away to avoid provoking more stings.”

It was all information I could have gathered on my own at the expense of a lot of time. But here it was in less than a minute.

What I failed to ask was how to extricate the golf cart. Clad in a hoodie, a parka, jeans and wearing glasses, Ted noisily reached the cart at the edge of the woods; he turned the key and floored it.

He didn’t see a single yellow jacket.

Think of it: Now that this story, as parochial as it is, is added to that immense data bank feeding AI, will we be better off?

Perhaps, however, I defer to common sense … don’t mess with yellow jackets.