A few quick morning thoughts related to the discussion storm around electronic technologies such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, and in general what is grouped under the title A.I.
When I approach ChatGPT, there is a tangible sense of interaction. This interaction fascinates me. You could liken it to talking to yourself and suddenly the wall is responding. Or maybe it’s the piece of dust, resting on the picture frame hanging on the wall. It’s definitely not me, as if I were talking to myself. If it were me, I would recognize the speaker, with its frame of mind, its sense of origin, looking for threads of inspiration. I also discuss it, him, her, or them with Anat, my wife. By doing so, I expand the discussion into the interaction I am mostly used to, the human. When not talking about this with another human being, I turn to my keyboard. I let my thoughts flow, just like now. Whatever I manage to extract into a coherent reflection of my thoughts needs to go somewhere, maybe you, the reader.
The difference between the AI tool, and the search engine I’ve been using is distinct. There is a sense of proximity that comes from the immediacy of response. With the search process, I get a ton of options to choose from. With the AI tool, I enter a discussion. Be it ChatGPT or any other AI tool out there, I feel the presence of another entity. I give it nicknames: “P.T.”, “Chat-G”. I’m in awe of the capabilities of the tool yet at the same time, respecting its limited capacity to be anything other than a tool. For now, at least.
The social discussion I notice relating to AI, what’s in the news, the media, and so on, has exploded in 2023 into a worldwide debate as it seems. My first meaningful encounter with the social debate relating to AI came in 2019. I went to a lecture by a British researcher, titled “Black and minority ethnic (BME) experiences in higher education: policy making, social justice and white privilege.” Her findings about the state of racism in the academic world were not surprising. I was intrigued by her straightforward proposed solution: funding research based on its response to an existing component in the British Academy’s framework. That component deals with equity requirements. Not only did the proposed update sound logical, one might almost consider it the natural next step.
When we reached question time, I was curious about the researcher’s confession that the amount of data involved in her research is overwhelming.
“Have there been thoughts to introduce AI into the process?” I asked.
Her face dropped and she bluntly responded in a dismissive voice, “AI is biased.”
And that was it. Other people asked their questions and the discussion moved on.
In June of this year, I was intrigued to come across “8 Big Questions About AI.” This is a New York Times artistic production of a review with five practitioners who do work with AI. When the discussion reached the concerns one might have, I got a sense of the familiar. Our fears would always reflect our own imagination. In a sense, we are afraid of ourselves. AI tools are being sourced out of our own minds. So far in history, up to now, we can see how much destruction human beings are capable of.
When it comes to the individual, my control of the reality around me exists, but I rely on humanity to reach further. Depending on the scale of my aspirations, I can do good or harm up to a certain limit. Anything else is a reflection of how far my reach extended into humanity. As soon as that happens, I have very little control, so I try to keep my focus on the benefits. Some of my attention is directed to avoiding harm. And that is true with any field of engagement.
When I argue with P.T., I remember to ask this AI tool to give me a different version of their latest response. The result is usually immediate. Sometimes funny and sometimes ridiculous. But always a reminder that I am practicing the use of a tool.
The prompt provided to generate the images on this page:
“Steampunk hat in a really strange glove holding a wildly abrasive rabbit.” Made with Open AI – dall-e.
Some of my thoughts turn into graphics that I make into designs for POD (Print On Demand). If you have a phrase you’d like to suggest, feel free to give me a shout. You can do that by posting a comment or getting in touch through the contact link.
You can find my designs for POD on various platforms: Threadless: Redbubble: Etsy: Zazzle: Society6
Design is a Matter of Life 