Technology

Is the New AI Chatbot the End of the World as We Know It?

Yes. And ChatGPT is a good thing, too.

Crawford Kilian YesterdayTheTyee.ca

Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.

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The arrival of ChatGPT isn’t the first time a technological advancement has resulted in the atrophy of a human mental skill, writes Crawford Kilian. Photo via Shutterstock.

 

Mathematician, computer scientist and famed code-breaker Alan Turing said that if you had a conversation with a computer and couldn’t distinguish what it said from what a human would say, then the computer must be intelligent and in some sense self-aware. The other day I ran a Turing test on ChatGPT, a chatbot recently released by Open AI.

 

 

It flunked. But it’s still a student, and it shows promise.

ChatGPT, its makers tell us, is still in beta form. Like a million other new users, I’ve been teaching it (tuition-free) so its answers will improve. It’s pretty easy to run a tutorial: once you’ve created an account, you’re invited to ask a question or give a command. Then you watch the reply, popping up on the screen at the speed of a fast and very accurate typist. Here’s an example:

Me: Write about David Eby in the style of The Tyee.

 

ChatGPT: David Eby, the BC NDP’s attorney general and Minister of Public Safety, is a well-known and respected figure in the province’s political landscape. Known for his passionate advocacy for social and environmental issues, Eby has made headlines for his efforts to tackle issues such as money laundering and housing affordability.

Born and raised in Toronto, Eby moved to B.C. in 2003 and quickly became involved in politics, first as a member of the BC Green Party and later as a candidate for the BC NDP. In 2013, he was elected as the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, and has since been re-elected twice.

In his role as attorney general, Eby has made headlines for his efforts to combat money laundering in the province’s real estate and gambling sectors. He has also introduced new legislation to increase housing affordability and protect renters from unfair evictions.

In addition to his work as a government minister, Eby is also an active member of his community, volunteering with organizations such as the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. He is known for his dedication to public service and his commitment to making B.C. a better place for all its residents.

ChatGPT’s description ends here.

ChatGPT’s knowledge base ends in 2021, so it’s not up on recent developments in Eby’s career. But no Tyee editor would agree that it’s “in the style of The Tyee.” For one thing, The Tyee would include sources for both praise and criticism of our new premier, expressed in attributed quotations.

Still, it’s fairly good boilerplate, the kind of text you’d see in plenty of politicians’ news releases.

 

https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/12/13/New-AI-Chatbox/