Nothing is more exciting than the leap of science and its accompanying technology. Without a doubt our screen imprisoned culture is here to stay. We have all read enough Sci-Fi so the imagination runs riot. Finally the beast has been harnessed to serve us. We own Artificial Intelligence ,pioneered by private companies and it is part of our dazzling asset portfolio. A fashion spread in the weekend National newspaper reveals that the stunning pictorial display is not the result of a fashion shoot with gorgeous models and locations but the product of ChatGPT the computer generated content software. This is called data plunder. The new pirates are computer savvy people. They are saving money and brain power to make money and finally determine where the real power lies. There seems to be an Elon Musk type of shadow here.
Then the significance of a Greek Mythology tale, Pandora’s Box also springs to mind. The Poet Hesiod”s 700BC poem ‘Works and Days’ reveals that Pandora was a human created on the instructions of Zeus. Each God bestowed unique gifts upon her. She was however, instructed ,not to open a box which was in the care of her husband. It could well have been curiosity for when she opened the box she released all the curses or troubles upon the world. In contemporary parlance a case of curiosity killing the cat.
When content is created by a software it obviously dips into a mammoth treasure chest of Input. Software geniuses have created a massive library to be used by smart people and the new rules are anyone can borrow a book. No library card is required? For students, the legal profession, medicine, Social scientists, The Arts ranging from visual to performing, film, Theatre and Music valuable tools present themselves. The world of Commerce also thrives as costs are cut. Amazon and Google are the beneficiaries of AI. We thrive on using them. It appears to be a win win scenario until copyright lawsuits shake the earth. Flip open your laptop lid and just ask the software. It will design, create and produce for you. Ownership be damned. Viola! Everyone can take an afternoon nap.
Cinema, says a noted film maker, is created by “observing and rendering the human experience”. So are Books. Marshall McLuhan the Canadian Communication Theorist who coined the phrase ‘The Medium is the Message” in 1964 provoked a study of Media. Now an acceptance of AIChatGPS in 2023 means we know precisely what the message is. Will the exercise of genuine intellectual labour become a thing of the past.
A clutch of young aspiring writers who are ready to seize the publishing empire discuss how they will write. I am seated eight feet away and eavesdrop like mad.
“Just feed in romance and adventure in The Atlantic Province of Canada. Also the ages of your protagonists. It will write the story for you.”
“Some mucking around and you get a book,” laughs a young woman with two health smoothies next to her laptop.
I am instantly reminded of the notorious Harlequin Romances sold at Supermarkets and Drug stores decades ago. They were written by a formula. Encounter between romantic partners on page. 11 and of course sex by page 40. Swoon worthy covers and housewives of America picked them up along with Corn Flakes and Peanut Butter. They were whispers that the writers were really not real? That was then and now a Meta Technology called GPT is capable of presenting advanced Human Biology , Fusion energy ad Climate solutions. it is a head-spinner. Excitement rippling through me but I need to sit down and do a little thinking.
Do these brilliant technologies have the ability to slow the development of human intelligence? I mean using a dishwasher does not make you forget how to wash dishes by hand. So this fear is irrational. The totally genius Alpha Fold system decodes Human protein. So Nobel Prizes shall follow no doubt as all advances in Medicine which cure many ailments are dependent on this type of volume driven research.
Here come definitions? What is artificial? Is the process of filtering, storing, coding and then releasing not real? Would the term process engineered be better? The American culture columnist Thomas Friedman writs an essay in NYT and titles it ‘Our new Promethean Moment’ . It is an elegant bit of writing. He also uses Greek Mythology . Prometheus stole fire and gifted it to humans for use in Science and advancement of man. Zeus the father of all Gods punished him and had him chained to a rock where an eagle, which was Zeus transformed, ate his liver each day. The liver regrew daily. Finally, Prometheus was rescued by Hercules. Is the impact of this event a reminder that sharing scientific knowledge has an inherent flaw which has yet to be detected?
In my humble opinion we are battling with issues such as control, monopoly, profit and global deprivation more than issues of degraded intelligence. If there is a danger in all this then so be it. It is often that the eye of the storm shifts from the center to conceal its power. So when the Aliens come for a long awaited visit it will assuredly computers who will greet them. We are ready !
Once again Nazneen you wrote a very impressive newsletter which has provided me an opportunity to think about the future. Would this sort of technology effect the human intelligence in a negative way and come to haunt us one day.