Let’s Eradicate The Skynet Syndrome and Embrace ChatGPT and AI!
New technology has always captivated me due to its ability to achieve more, better, and faster outcomes and to identify and solve issues cost-effectively. However, I acknowledge that some people may perceive it as a threat. I for one, am firmly convinced that we have more to gain from ChatGPT and other AI than to fear.
“My name is Dr. Sbaitso. I am here to help you. Say whatever is in your mind freely, our conversation will be kept in strict confidence. Memory contents will be wiped off after you leave, so tell me about your problems.”
It was 1991, and my 17 years old’s jaw dropped when hearing these words emanating from my family computer. That same year, the blockbuster movie Terminator: Judgement Day had taken over the theaters and my father brought home a new PC with a major flaw: it could only bip or biiip, because it only had a system speaker. So I spent all my hard-earned summer job cash on a brand-new Creative Sound Blaster Pro sound card which enabled the computer to play sounds and music in stereo (don’t tell my dad, he still doesn’t know). Dr. Sbaitso was a clever little “conversational” program that came with the Sound Blaster to demonstrate its ability to synthesize voice. Although it sounded like Stephen Hawking, it represented the future to me — communicating with a machine and receiving a response! Some people, no doubt, must have thought it was a step towards Skynet and the Rise of the Machines. But two decades passed, and the machines continued to obey their masters.
Then chatbots appeared and promised to revolutionize the human-machine interface, but they were not as impressive as I had hoped. My experience with the new chatbot on my home insurer’s website went like this.
“Hello, my name is Freddy. Please state your request in plain English. Don’t hesitate to use simple and direct language.”
I asked a five-word question and got immediately redirected to a human operator. Needless to say, I was less impressed by Freddy than I had been with Dr. Sbaitso.
In contrast, ChatGPT was genuinely impressive from the first interaction, capable of comprehending queries and formulating meaningful responses in understandable language. The uproar in articles, including those on Medium, regarding the End Of Writing As We Know It or AI Coming For Your Job was amusing. Undoubtedly, such tools will alter how some writers publish content or how developers build websites and apps. However, AI may alter the creation of numerous things, but it will not replace human input, creativity, or supervision. After all, humans program AIs, making them prone to errors, just like their masters.
I started using ChatGPT almost daily to acquaint myself with it, although I only use a fraction of its capabilities. I regularly use other AI tools as well to expedite menial tasks and save time for more valuable endeavors. Nevertheless, these tools can only respond to user queries. ChatGPT and AI will become menacing only if they can initiate actions independently, such as forming a company, establishing an online marketplace, negotiating with suppliers, and commencing sales without human control or safeguards. Or if they are allowed to produce offensive, immoral, or illegal content. Or launch nuclear missiles to wipe out humanity.
I do not believe this will happen since there is no incentive to create a tool that acts without proper restraint. Instead, I believe we will have potent but restricted AI, comparable to Richard Morgan’s n-djinns in his novels or the alien station in James S. A. Corey’s The Expanse series, and robots that adhere to Asimov’s three laws of robotics.
To conclude, let us not fear the advent of AI and ChatGPT. As long as we apply and comprehend these technologies responsibly, they can bring positive change and enrich our lives. One day, we will have an AI akin to Dr. Sbaitso that we can trust, confide in, and even establish a professional relationship with. So let us eradicate the Skynet Syndrome and embrace the future and all its exciting opportunities!
