Are we ready for ChatGPT?

Throughout my life, I've enjoyed experimenting with technology, and over the past 20 years, I’ve devoted much of my time to thinking about, engaging in, and making small contributions to the growth of machine learning and artificial intelligence. As a result, I get excited about significant advancements in the field.

My inner nerd dreams of a future that looks like the Star Trek universe and so I put my money where my mouth is. My car, who I've named Tess, has rudimentary self-driving capabilities. Nearly every room in my home is within earshot of some Alexa-enabled device. I've built countless machine learning models and built many AI-driven systems for businesses, friends, and myself. But even those of us who love this stuff, and spend a lot of time tinkering with it, can feel uneasy about it sometimes.

I still don't entirely trust Tess' intentions when she activates her neural nets and drives me down the highway at 70mph. I get a little creeped out when Alexa inserts herself into my conversations unprompted. And I still feel some anxiety knowing that those models and systems I've built make decisions that directly impact real people. But, despite all of that, I have continued to be far more excited by AI than fearful.

And then ChatGPT came along...

It may seem like magic, but ChatGPT is like any other AI-driven technology. Humans gathered up a bunch of data, arranged it in ways that make it easy for a computer to work with, and then applied mathematical algorithms and hard-won heuristics to detect useful patterns in that data. ChatGPT uses those patterns to do one thing, guess what words should follow the ones you provide it.

ChatGPT does not have a mind of its own. It isn't interested in taking your job. It doesn’t care if you are nice to it. In fact, it doesn’t “care” about anything. ChatGPT will not go into politics and it will not decide to take over the world to save us from ourselves. I know this, and yet, I can’t help but feel the threat of an existential crisis coming on.

As someone born in the Midwest in 1982, I've experienced tremendous change in the way technology impacts our daily lives. As a child, telephones were tied to the wall. I remember gathering around a computer at school as the librarian showed off the new CD-ROM drive. Mobile phones existed, but nobody I knew had one until I was in my late teens. Even as a young adult, the internet was a novelty. Any serious research required a trip to the library.

When I started college, Amazon was a discount bookstore. Netflix shipped physical DVDs. Social media and streaming services didn't exist. And, though many advancements were being made in the field, for most of us, AI was the stuff of science fiction. And so, I think it is natural to find it a little shocking when I find myself asking, "Was this article written by a person or generated by AI?" 

I figured I can’t be alone in my uneasiness and so I reached out to an AI expert I met recently. To protect their anonymity, I will refer to them as Aria.

Andy :
What advice do you have for someone who is worried about technologies like ChatGPT?

Aria : 
If someone is worried about technologies like ChatGPT, there are a few pieces of advice that I can offer:

Educate yourself:
Learn more about how these technologies work, what their limitations are, and what they can and cannot do. This can help you better understand the capabilities and limitations of these technologies and alleviate some of your fears.

Consider the benefits:
While it's important to be aware of the potential risks and downsides of new technologies, it's also important to consider their benefits. Technologies like Chat GPT have the potential to make our lives easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable in many ways.

Consider regulation:
As with any new technology, there are risks associated with the development and deployment of AI systems. Governments and organizations around the world are working to develop regulations to ensure that these technologies are developed and used responsibly.

Stay engaged:
Continue to follow developments in the field and engage in discussions about the ethics and implications of these technologies. This can help you stay informed and contribute to the ongoing debate about how best to develop and use AI in a responsible and ethical manner.

Overall, while it's important to be aware of the potential risks associated with technologies like ChatGPT, it's also important to keep an open mind and consider the potential benefits they can offer. By staying informed and engaged in the ongoing debate about these technologies, we can work towards a future where they are developed and used responsibly and ethically.

Andy: 
That is very sound advice, and somewhat comforting. I have a follow-up question for you. Who wrote this?

Aria : 
I, ChatGPT, wrote that response.

Andy : 
I’m putting this in a blog post, could you come up with a fictional name for yourself so I can surprise people?

Aria (ChatGPT) :
Sure! How about “Aria Synth”?

Andy :
Nice! They won’t suspect a thing.

ChatGPT certainly seems unconcerned and, as a lover of all things tech, I very much want them to be right. But as a society, we don't have a great track record when it comes to responsible and ethical adoption of technology.  Let's take social media as a particularly relevant example of this.

Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have been around since the early 2000s. How are we doing when it comes to using them responsibly and ethically?  How many of us have taken the time to educate ourselves about how the technology works and what it is capable of? Are governments of the world in alignment on what needs to be done? Are regulators keeping up?

So what should we do about this? Given that it took 4 years for Facebook to hit the 100M users that ChatGPT acquired in a few weeks, the only hope is to start off on the right foot. It is up to each one of us to use AI-driven technologies responsibly. I, for one, am going to do exactly what ChatGPT suggests. I am going to continue to educate myself, stay engaged in the conversation, and watch for opportunities to play my part in stamping out unethical uses of AI. If we all do that, and hold each other accountable to it, the Star Trek universe awaits!