AI

The new ominous surge in AI technology, most recently demonstrated by the mental gymnastics performed by ChatGPT, poses an interesting philosophical question. Should we?  And if we do, how do we keep it in check?  Elon Musk pondered the question in his recent interview with Tucker Carlson. If we move forward, safeguards must be put in place, safeguards that can’t be thwarted by the AI itself. Further, we have to be able to recognize that we are being threatened. As he put it, AI won’t present itself like the Terminator, rather we will likely be more subtly manipulated by language. AI has shown itself to be adept at writing, and producing works of art, even poetry, and disturbingly has shown itself to be manipulative, partisan, and downright mean-spirited. All those traits were infused into it unknowingly, perhaps, by its creators. Will writers and artists be replaced?  College professors?  Why not politicians and judges?  Wouldn’t a doctor benefit from having the entire history of medical research at his fingertips in seconds? What job wouldn’t benefit from an omniscient non-biased machine? Would only manual labor be left to the humans, or would AI figure out how to produce a machine to do that as well? Welcome to the Matrix, my friends. And who will be the gatekeeper for this technology? The same geniuses that brought us Facebook, Tik-Tok, and video games that feature algorithms to manipulate our behavior?  Or the same scientists that unleashed Covid-19 on the world? And speaking of Wuhan, how exactly will the CCP use this technology, assuming they are in an arms race of sorts to develop their own version of AI? Will they employ the same safeguards that they used in the Wuhan virology lab? And will they use it and share it for the betterment of humankind or deploy it as a weapon to probe our military for weakness, develop new weapons of war and continue their quest to supplant the dollar as the world’s reserve currency? What could go wrong?  And as we plow headfirst into technological advances beyond our comprehension, we have a glaring example of what lies ahead, staring us right in the face: The internet and social media. We have an entire generation raised in this cyberspace jungle with disastrous results. Depression, anxiety, and suicide have spiked in our youth with a curve that mimics the advent of social media. Terrorist organizations and the cartels use online platforms to disseminate information and coordinate attacks. Chicago’s “youth” staged a night of looting and vandalism by posting online calls for a riot that demonstrated the dangers of the hive mentality.  Our military suffered its most damaging leak in history after a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman posted classified documents to an obscure online chat room that was then reposted by a former Navy officer on social media with over 65000 followers. Even Peter Parker knew that with great power comes great responsibility. And he was a comic book character. Mr. Musk understands it. Unfortunately for humankind, it appears that he is the only one who does.