I’m Terrified of A.I. But Accept It’s Inevitability
On a recent episode of Political Playlist Happy Hour, we led off with the news of one of Google’s top AI scientists departing. He wanted to be able to speak publicly about what he sees as on of the potential greatest threats to our existence — artificial intelligence. Ironic!
AI terrifies me, to be honest. But it’s also very exciting. Am I allowed to feel two things at once? I hope so.
Let’s start with the terrifying. AI is developing at an alarming rate — ChatGPT became a household name at the end of last year and now it’s passing the bar exam and writing speeches. This speed is unmatched, especially by any hope of regulation.
The notoriously-functional United States government is having ongoing discussions about artificial intelligence, how to respond to it, and what regulation, if any, to put on it. Conversations are great, but action is better. Enter, China, which just announced its first efforts at AI regulation.
The global superpower and our frenemy just launched its first round of AI rules that will give the government more power when it comes to the development of artificial intelligence technology and the dissemination of potentially dangerous information via that technology. They are able to do this, of course, because they are not a democracy and government oversight is kind of China’s thing. In the U.S… not so much. We like our freedom. However, in this case, freedom could mean weaponized robots that will destroy humanity.
In a more immediate way, AI is already showing how it might threaten and upend certain industries and careers. When I’m not writing these articles or keeping my partners Anthony and Michael in line, I am a writer for film and television. In case you hadn’t heard, we’re on strike. One of the points that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is striking over is the studios’ refusal to agree that AI will not be used in lieu of actual human writers like myself. Basically, if ChatGPT can write a mediocre script to serve as a first draft and the studio can hire a cheap writer for a rewrite, it saves them a lot of money will eliminating opportunity and pay for members of the WGA.
On the flip side, I’ve already started using ChatGPT as a brainstorming tool and find it pretty helpful. The blank page doesn’t feel so daunting when I can ask it questions like — ‘Give me a paragraph describing a creepy bedroom with a dead body laying on the bed’. The paragraph is bad, but a couple words in it spark something that I find helpful for this surely uplifting scene I’m writing.
We all have to accept that AI is solidifying its place in our world. I stand with the demands of the WGA, but also see that no matter how hard we fight, there’s no guarantee that artificial intelligence can be limited — especially when the government is unlikely to play any effective role.
Do you find AI scary? Inspiring? Both? Email us at info@politicalplaylist.com with any insights or musings you have on the topic and make sure you check out last week’s episode.
Keep human-ing!
Anna
