Here’s why AI should really worry us: Computers have learned to write

12/18/2022

A quarter-century after a computer trounced Kasparov, a program hailed as the best AI text generator ever built mostly produces predictable prose, often riddled with errors, with a side order of lousy poetry.

And yet, CEOs are already using it to help them write memos. Business and tech leaders view it as a threat to search engines like Google. And teachers are up in arms over students’ ability to cheat via chatbot.

There is something bigger and spookier going on here. Not even the creators of ChatGPT fully understand how the system works, because it’s too complex for humans to comprehend. Even when it makes a mistake, nobody knows why.

The same is true of AI programs that help make high-stakes decisions about health care, law enforcement, and even military operations. And that is what scares me.

ChatGPT has awed and amazed over a million people since it became available for free public use last month.

Developed by San Francisco-based OpenAI, an artificial intelligence company cofounded by Twitter owner Elon Musk, ChatGPT does a credible impersonation of the smartest kid in the room, despite its fumbles.

Elon Musk has publicly expressed concerns about the potential dangers of advanced AI. In particular, he has warned about the risk of AI being used for malicious purposes, such as to develop weapons or to interfere with elections

However, some people claim that it will wipe out jobs for humans. But this is not true.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not replace human jobs completely, as it can only perform simple tasks and cannot replace a person’s ability to think creatively or solve problems intelligently.