Here is a fun thought: what if chatGPT puts pressure on humans to be original, again? I see ChatGPT as a modern day typewriter, filling in the blanks in a way that word processing did, a step up from the old click and clack machines. First key by key, then word by word, now theme by theme.
But.. what about this? It merely regurgitates and repackages what exists already. It is not generating new ideas or even observations. It is a little like an annoying acquaintance who expresses no original thoughts. Or a media that says so much but nothing important, or off script. Or a doctor who is bound by policies only to recommend according to a centralized protocol.
Checkmate, robot-like humans! Proceed without originality or creative thinking, and technology is on your level. Step it up, sheeple! Dull, herdlike thinking is becoming obsolete, or at least makes you indistinguishable from AI. :)
The creative process is, as you point out, divine and uniquely human. Let us all be more so.
Totally, beautifully, 100%. Such a fabulous point, CM. I love your examples -- they really drive home the short hop from mechanistic, robotic processes to repressive policies -- and the exhortation to step it up! Do you mind if I riff on this comment for a poem? I'll credit you, of course...
Now that I just wrote that, I have to laugh... so much for original thinking!! 😂
Nice one Mary! I think the humans are still much, much further ahead of the robots even than the starfish are ahead of the spiders! (re your prior article). 50 years ago, M.I.T. professor of computer science Joseph Weisenbaum wrote what may still today be the best analysis ever written of the relationship between people and computers. (The fundamentals do not change). In it he said that 'it is not obvious that all human knowledge is encodable in information structures', and declared the idea that machines can be intelligent to be a 'grandiose fantasy'. It is really time we grew out of that fantasy, or simply stopped believing those who peddle it.
I had some conversations with ChatGPT myself over the past couple of weeks (and started an article of my own, which may or may not rise to the top of the pile that I simultaneously work on, and get published!). My conclusions were similar to yours I found myself concluding (and it will be the bottom line of my article, if it sees the light of day) that, wow, it's IMMENSELY impressive compared to a 1970's Casio calculator - but IMMENSELY unimpressive compared to a human being!
It's also programmed with enormous political bias, as many others have also discovered. To give but one example, when I asked about the Ukraine war, it told me Russia was inflicting violence and oppression. When I asked if the violence and oppression were similar to that inflicted by America in Iraq, I was told that it is not appropriate to make such comparisons.
'AI' is an immense (and colossaly expensive) sham - which will undoubtedly have many commercial applications, and equally certainly have very negative consequences for humanity. Not because the machines are smarter than us, but because they are not.
When more people realise that, we may have some chance of more appropriate application, and less damage.
Oh, and regarding 'bring it on'.... I'm a little nervous throwing down that challenge, cos the fight will be an ugly one. But I admire the spirit! We need that!
Michael! Sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your excellent comments. I love Weisenbaum's assessment -- and I think it wise to not let our imaginations run away with us... haha! :-)
I've read that a non-biased version is now in the works, as well as an app that can determine immediately if an AI language tool was used on a particular piece of writing. Human beings are just AMAZING. That's where I'm putting my faith -- and that's why I say, bring it on.
I think you are putting your faith exactly in the right place Mary. No matter how relatively brilliant AI ever gets it will only ever be a pale shadow of humanity, and the spiritual world we are part of. It is perhaps yet another version of the 'fraudulent Oz' that you have written of in your latest article.
Here's another Wiezenbaum (I mis-spelled it before) story you might like - in 2006, aged 83, he gave some of his lifelong reflections on AI in an interview. (Published as a small but wonderful book called 'Islands in the Cyberstream'. Among those reflections he suggested that the drive behind AI is substantiallly an egoistic obsession with having the ability to 'create life'. (I think Mary Shelley wrote something about that too!) He noted that just about 100% of the computer scientists driving that forward have been male. Since it is clear that there are plenty of female scientists of sufficient calibre to be participating, but they aren't, he hypothesised that what is happening is a male-egoistic obsesssion with 'creating life' in which women don't need to participate - because they actually can!
I'm with you on this. I'm backing humans too. (Especially ones like you!) I only hesitate with the brave cry of 'bring it on' (which I nonetheless admire in you!) because I expect the battle to be a long and difficult one. That is both because of financial and political (i.e. control) imperatives, and because so many seem to have bought the story that machines can be intelligent. Though on the other hand the great majority of everybody I speak to, of every age group, tell me that no, they don't believe machines can be intelligent. There's another reason to beleive in people right there!
This idea of Wiezenbaum's makes total sense to me. I've often wondered (and I know I'm not the first to wonder it) if man's (men's) obsession with war is a response to not being capable of creating life; as in, "I'll destroy life instead, as the second-best option to demonstrate human power."
I'm heartened to hear you echo my (possibly imprudent) taunt. We have WAY more going for us than we -- or they -- realize.
I, like you, am not worried. At least not yet. As much as I’ve played with both Midjourney and ChatGPT, it feels hallow and an imitation of that which is human. I love the analogy of how the body will ask for soup after the gummy bears. So true. The “real” is gonna be what’s sought after.
I directed “Art” fresh out of college. Actually, I directed it in college and then got offered to do so professionally with the same actors and it was our first paying gig. Since I got the chance to do it for so long, I kept tweaking and tweaking. Discovered the play wasn’t so much about art as it was about friendship. And it was heartbreaking. It left me with a sense of sadness and reflecting back on it now, it seems like a lifetime ago, and yet, it so perfectly encompasses my recent break up with theatre as well. Life is such a funny thing.
Your poem from last week still stays with me. Utterly hauntingly beautiful.
Why does it not surprise me that you directed "Art"? Seems more than a coincidence, Tonika -- how perfect that my essay delivers you back to an emotional experience of the separation, which is what brought us together in the first place. In high school, I had an English teacher who seemed convinced that the theme of every piece of literature we analyzed was irony. At the time, I thought she was just being lazy... now, having lived this funny thing called life as long as I have, I think she was right. :-)
Thanks for your comment on this, and on the poem. When the time is right, let's connect on that.
I see these “coincidences” as indicators for connection and exploration. Absolutely would love to collaborate on your last piece. I’ll text you this week. Have to get through a gruelling work week that ends tomorrow.
And your teacher sounds awesome! Indeed, I’ve reread several pieces that spoke to me at the time that speak to me differently now. Life is quite funny, indeed!
I see them that way, too. I think Deepak Chopra coined the term "synchrodestiny" and I've always liked that way of describing coincidence. Good luck getting through the gruel. Talk soon... xox
Feb 26, 2023·edited Feb 26, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin
Hi Mary,
I'm just coming back down to earth after binging for the last few days of going back between YouTube videos and playing around with Chat GPT.
Though poetry is not my domain of comfort, I agree with you regarding the quality and accuracy of answers. I tested its edges on 'controversial' topics such the jabs and war. And then I narrowed in on a query about myself, and got the following ...
"Thank you for providing more details. Based on your information, it seems that you may be referring to Dr. Steven F. Martin who is a professor of comparative religion and philosophy at Temple University Japan (TUJ).
Dr. Martin received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and his research interests include philosophy of religion, comparative religion, and ethics. He has written several articles and books on these topics, including "Ethics Across the Professions: A Reader for Professional Ethics" and "The Bhagavad Gita: A Guidebook for Navigating the Battle of Life."
In addition to his work at TUJ, Dr. Martin has also taught at other universities in Japan, including Waseda University and Jissen Women's College. He is known for his engaging and insightful teaching style, and his ability to connect with students from diverse backgrounds.
I hope this information is helpful."
As far as I know, there has never been a Dr. Martin at TUJ (I dropped the doctoral program shortly after receiving tenure at Jissen), and though the topics mentioned are among my reading interests, I never taught comparative religion and philosophy at TUJ. I taught public speaking, freshman writing, and directed biology labs. I did teach at Waseda, but I can not take the flattery tag-line very seriously as the program played so loosely with the other 'facts'. On the other hand, I looked up the book, found it on Kindle Japan, and added it to my collection. If the Hindu mythos was good enough for Schopenhauer ... 😂
To further test its limits, I asked questions about specific fishing gear and techniques used in the Izu Islands south of Tokyo, and asked about several well know chain stores of fishing equipment in Japan. It spat out answers with confidence, but lacking in accuracy and downright 'mistakes' ... for example, all leisure sports fishermen in Japan are required to have a yearly fishing license costing about ¥4,000, the absence of which could be heavily penalized. There is no such license. I fed ChatGPT the prompt that I have lived and fished in Japan for 40 years and have never heard of or seen such a license. It apologized and hedged its mistake saying local laws vary and change quickly. This A.I. seems to have also been programmed to lie and hedge for questions it is not yet able to handle. Ha. Maybe coming close to emulating nature after all.
On the other hand, last Friday afternoon, while planning the classroom lesson for tomorrow at a different elementary school, I was again struck by the textbook's lack of quality regarding the psychology of foreign language education for young students, and the Japanese teachers who are wedded to the text because they are kept too busy to really sit down and think about it.
I mentioned ChatGPT to the teacher, whose son is struggling with English in his college classes, and challenged her to ask a question. She asked what is the oldest coffee shop in Kunitachi (the city I teach in), and damn if it didn't identify the name and location of a coffee shop dating back to the 1920's. Yesterday, NHK, the Japanese government news, had some news casters give a brief introduction and discussion of potential problems ... because ChatGPT is now in Japanese, and the sentences are nearly flawless ... much better than Google translate. I am looking forward to seeing that teacher tomorrow, hoping she looked it up or possibly saw the news about ChatGPT on tv.
Just last week, I attended a documentary screening and discussion at Rikkyo University regarding the gradual nationalistic, re-militarization of Japan ... as pushed by the central Ministry of Education through the choice of textbooks and teaching methods in compulsory education. I have seen the gradual change too, from reaching out to get a better grasp of the international world, towards a more insular form of Japanese exceptionalism. And about two months ago, the Ministry of Education announced a 3 year plan to pilot elementary and Jr. High education towards a goal of 95% reliance on digital textbooks ... beginning with English as a foreign language. I can see where something like ChatGPT could have a big impact, for good or evil.
The problem for the students is the same problem that you have in the domain of poetry, myself in foreign language education or fishing, and the general populace has regarding specific domains. The 'answers' this thing spits out are MUCH better than the average tweet or Facebook meme, and I'm afraid that's about all the majority of the working class are able or willing to handle. Collectively, the species, or at least the working class, has been deliberately dumbed down to the point that ChatGPT makes a better conversation partner or source of information than most fellow humans. For the bulk of human history, I guess 'information is power' has always been one of the machiavellian strait-jackets placed on the majority of us.
Like everyone else, I am not sure where A.I. is headed, but I am afraid it will be far more disruptive than the first wave of social media, maybe surpassing the advent of the internet itself. One thing I am coming to believe though, is that the capacity to communicate with A.I. through the right questions, the right prompts, will give an edge to those who already have enough background education to know what writing style to ask it to emulate, what format to use, what academic context or social register to use. For those who don't have that wide, liberal-arts background or personal insight and experience, this thing could create sociopathic echo chambers that might as well be alternate universes.
Before I go to bed tonight, I will play around a bit more with it with a few tough prompts ... for example, give a breakdown of Kantian ethics, and then show how well, or not, a globalist-collectivist agenda jives with it. Are the ends desirable, and do those ends justify the current means?
Interesting times a-coming.
Cheers Mary,
steve
ps. Among the YouTube videos I watched was of a guy laying out the prompts that would allow anyone to write a publishable e-book in about an hour. His example was on 'How to Train a Dog', and the only thing he knew about the topic was how to use the right prompts. ChatGPT wrote the book for him. Get ready for avalanche of such books.
But the reason prompting my ps, I just received an 'answer' to a question I posed regarding the conflict between collectivism and Kantian ethics, and sweet baby cheeses ... though not definitive, detailed, or exhaustive ... how many personal acquaintances could give a reply as good as the following? At the very least, it would make a good starting point for the chapters of a book, or a great starting point for the script of a decent YouTube video. The graphics and videos are now capable of being generated by prompts.
Question — "What are some of the conflicts between collectivist thought or globalist agendas and Kantian ethics?"
ChatGPT's response —
"There are several conflicts between collectivist thought or globalist agendas and Kantian ethics. Here are some examples:
Universal moral principles vs. cultural relativism: Kantian ethics holds that there are certain moral principles that are universally valid, regardless of cultural differences. However, collectivist thought may argue that moral values are culturally constructed and therefore relative to each culture. This conflict may arise when there is a clash between the universal principles of Kantian ethics and the cultural practices of collectivist societies.
Duty to self vs. duty to the collective: Kantian ethics places a strong emphasis on individual responsibility and the importance of doing what is right, even if it goes against personal desires. In contrast, collectivist thought emphasizes the importance of group identity and the duty to the collective. This conflict may arise when an individual's duty to do what is right conflicts with their duty to the collective.
Open borders vs. respect for national sovereignty: Globalist agendas may prioritize open borders and the free movement of people, goods, and services across national boundaries. However, Kantian ethics emphasizes the importance of respecting national sovereignty and the rights of individual nations to control their own borders. This conflict may arise when globalist agendas clash with the duty to respect the autonomy and sovereignty of individual nations.
Overall, the conflicts between collectivist thought or globalist agendas and Kantian ethics highlight the tension between individual responsibility and the duty to the collective, as well as the tension between universal moral principles and cultural relativism."
Gulp. Well argued, counselor. There's a reason why I pitted ChatGPT against art; I was fairly certain AI would lose. What you've laid out here are the very compelling reasons that AI will surge in areas where creativity is less essential, and where, as you astutely point out, base knowledge to ask the "right" prompts is lacking. "Sociopathic echo chambers" exist already (great term), but I agree, AI may push them even farther apart.
I don't know if the net effect of this new tool will be good or ill -- and neither does ChatGPT, clearly. Time is the only judge here. In the meantime, a trip back through the Bhagavad Gita sounds appealing...
Thanks for this epistle of a comment. Have you considered publishing it on Count Chocula??
Mar 1, 2023·edited Mar 1, 2023Liked by Mary Poindexter McLaughlin
Hi Mary,
Stuck between the imposter syndrome, underachievement syndrome, and the local board of education making sure they've used me for all I'm worth before discarding ... I'm still struggling to formulate something worthy enough to post as an essay. But on the way to work this morning, some of the things you got me thinking about jelled into a comment to another writer who inspires me. Still trying to figure out why, but without a personal connection to original thinkers like yourself to bounce ideas around, I just can't seem to find a ground to stand on.
I feel like the scarecrow on meeting Dorothy on the way to Oz, picking up pieces of himself all over the road. But until I get myself sorted out, here is the comment you inspired ... https://stegiel.substack.com/p/totalitarianism/comments
Oops, lunch time is over. Cheers for now Mary. Gotta jump for the teachers here at today's Jr. High, and hope that the students find some meaning in that leap of faith. Looking forward to when I can have the time I need to really read and chat on substsack with creative problem solvers like you. 🥰
Hey Steve, I just read your comment. Now, I mean this in the best way possible, so I hope you'll take it that way...
Dude, you are beyond worthy to post an essay. You don't need to write things that are perfect, or solve it all... you just need to throw your voice into the ring. Don't let the monkeys -- in your head or elsewhere -- get you down. All you need is courage. (Now who's referencing Oz?)
I'd read your stuff. So now you've got one subscriber already. That's where I started, and even though I'm nowhere NEAR the readership I'd like, knowing there were one or two people who cared what I wrote was enough.
It sounds like you'll have more time soon, yes? Jump in, the water's great, and it needs you... :-)
Hi Mary, and thank you for the encouragement. It is something that one doesn't receive much of in Japan, or perhaps it is the petty squabbling over shrinking resources in the workplace that has taught me to try and keep a low profile. Here, truly, the nail that sticks up get smashed down, if not dehumanized, through traumatic levels of marginalization. In a way, it might be a magnified version of what has has goes on world wide for millennia, but as an ethnic foreigner, male, and now beyond the age of leading man ... this would-be 'white knight' tends to be cast in the role of a Pancho Sanza (or the equivalent 'step and fetch it') for those whose silver spoons were born in their mouths by virtue of ethnicity alone, or those who viciously fight for their place-in-the-sun through any sociopathic means at their disposal.
The combination of a really, really, really bad season of hay fever over here, and still recovering (if ever) from a cancerous thyroid gland removal has me mulling the possibility, ha ... who am I kidding? ... the probability ... that I will take a paid leave of absence from next week's final classes at one of the Jr. Highs I work for, leaving me with just a couple of days of elementary school fun and games — before catching a plane to Arizona, and say my hellos and probable goodbys to a fading mom — and then return to Japan, only to file for unemployment, or become another underemployed token foreigner, or enter the digital landscape.
As I am tired of playing the kitchen-n. rather than a field slave for so many years, I will try to follow your advice. But wow, the environment is so competitive out in the real world, that I really need to find a collaborative community. If I find myself in 'competitive-mode', this is what I might find myself up against ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjObqq6we4U ... and this was 3 months ago. At the pace A.I. is moving, that might be the equivalence of 3 years ago, and I will have become a dinosaur by the time I return from Arizona and jump through the Japanese bureaucratic paper-hoops. I suspect the lack of freedom and autonomy for the working class over here is by conscious design, but my position and circumstances don't allow me the voice to say or do much about it.
In the meantime, it is good to have a small handful of real people like you to help keep me on that narrowing path of lingering sanity.
Thanks again Mary. Ooops. past 5 am here. Gotta make the 2nd of 3 cups of coffee before I am awake enough to shower up and head for another day at school.
Cheers, and though I am looking forward to diving back in some day soon, it is a race between what I might have always had the potential to do, and an accumulation of the ravages of time before my own body begins to fall apart. I can't help but to wonder, how many mute readers out there are in a similar position?
Take care, and looking forward to being inspired and invigorated by you and a few others.
Wow! Mary, your writing just gets more wonderful all the time. I hardly know how to respond anymore.
One thing that comes through so clearly to me in your writing these days is that you are really loving life. You are so in tune with it, on so many different levels, it brings tears to my eyes. And you always give your readers something valuable to think about. I'd like to see ChatGPT do that!
Rocket, I love that you are still here, supporting my writing and holding space for the community that is growing here. Your observation is right on, friend. I AM loving life. As crazy as this world is right now, it's only pushing me toward more joy, more light -- I feel like it's almost an obligation to keep softening and opening my heart in response. I'm not sure if that makes sense... :-) xox
You bet it makes sense. Thank you, Mary, for this reply. What you are doing is the only rational response to this crazy world. Keep it up. I'm so glad our paths have crossed.
As a fellow poet, thank you. Thank you for challenging the potential consequence, the reality, of AI - known elsewhere as 'the plagiarism engine - and revealing it for what it is. Empty.
The last half is about ChatGPT (I would like ta replace the first C with an S....); AI kin now git passin' grades on medical an' legal bar exams... It's sure bad 'nuff that kids are gettin' used to cheatin' (man that's TRULY awful ta hear...) but now that they can cheat with AI (no tell-tale ink marks on the palms...), the game's gotten far easier fer the kids, far harder fer the grown-ups (teachers).
Them blue books ya mentioned Mary ARE the way ta go! (As are paper ballots too ha ha!). Plus, it's somethin' ta save (though I guess teachers tossed 'em back in the day--that makes me sad as I betcha there was lots worth savin')....
Not that long ago folks were greenwarshed inta thinkin' using digital waz savin' paper and had no idear there are SO many renewable paper sources from fast-sproutin' forests (right here in America!) an' FEW digital resources that ain't dirty with heavy metals an' child labor buildin' them devilish devices...). It's all part of the same thing--to stop young'uns from writin' (and readin' BOOKS--real ones!).
Funny but true--not bein' succinct in nature, I wrote loooong an' hard on paper AND on old skool typewriters fer many a year an' ONLY "got" carpal (sounds like some fish gatherin' !) when I started tappin' on a 'puter at a job (an' it was a LOT less in terms of pages...). My girls know kids who have some sorta "texting thumb" issues from their phones. Landsakes, what this tech has wrought...
Can we go back? A step? Two? Not all the way to, say, 1985 but real paper an' ink sure was nice :-)
I read the article -- sooo glad someone wrote such a solid, in-depth piece about it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Almost exactly 6 years ago I wrote an essay called How to Raise a Generation of Cheaters (https://marypoindextermclaughlin.substack.com/p/how-to-raise-a-generation-of-cheaters-27180ec9f093) and it's frightening to see how in just a few years cheating has blossomed fully into a legit way of life. Those generations I highlighted are now in more and more positions of power and leadership. Is there any wonder why we find ourselves drowning in corruption?
I agree with you... paper and ink sounds mighty fine. I miss it. xox
Why sure! Will give yer other essay a read 2nite! So yup, that's a good theory thar 'bout the common corruption've today; I DO wonder if this cheatin' practice in "skool" (with teachers lookin' the other way...) formed the psyches (psych-ease!) that let our polly-tisch-ins' feel entitled to EASILY and confidently lie, cheat, steal an' remain blithely unaccountable to anyone sans the least flea bite'a guilt? Even darker... perhaps that WUZ the intent! (Channelin' Charlotte Iserbyte here...)
I think mebbe you are right and that IS sad. It used'ta be we could pick out the very few cheaters but now it seems like they are EVERYWHERE an' it's the honest kids that gotta be found like them hens teeth!
One more thing I like/d 'bout homeschoolin' (mebbe this also was something ya found in yer "GOOD" Waldorf experiences...)... there is NO reason ta cheat! In the homeschoolin' co-op classes my kiddos did there were no "rewards" or "punishments" and nothing to "cheat on"--no false setups that'd drive a kid crazy. If a kid couldn't do an assignment on time, more time was given--or an alternate (for the shy kid that didn't wanna recite, they could write, for a kid that didn't wanna write they could "tell"...) I DO think homeschoolin' keeps kids honest and not focused on "results" or scores an' I WORRY that "ed-you-CAUTION" now sets kids up ta be ruthless, focus on "grades" (ptooey!) an' not see what's important... And on that note, I'm a' gonna berl some chaga! xo's back at'cha an' ya to paper n' ink!
I listened to below and thought of your thought-provoking piece. You might appreciate this discussion. (They make a distinction between self-aware and sentient when it comes to AI. Self-aware, yes, but of itself only, not sentient in the way humans are. I hadn't considered that before. )
Ooh, I will definitely have a look. That's SUCH a good distinction -- self-aware vs. sentient. And I wonder about the difference between self-aware and self-referential. Thanks for the rec, Kathleen!
While we're at it, I really enjoyed your comments on 2nd Smartest Guy in the World's latest. Yours (and Michael Warden's) were a refreshing breath of practical positivity.
Wull, life has no certainty--an' I hope you're right that AI will fizzle like the sound fx for a cheap steakhouse commercial -- but I'm certain yer right about LOVE and an open heart an' TRUE art survivin' (need not even be "good" just true an' done with conviction). I'm with ya seein' good whar ye kin--I feel makin' good lemonade outta some purdy sour lemons is part'a life. But this AI thing--the roots've which were planted long ago with the stuff ya mentioned (like auto-tuner, cgi, all that...).... hard ta see any shreds' ve good--see any in Dr. Evil n' Mini Me? (Schwabby n' Harari?...not me...) Now as fer Pollyanna, I'm a fan! The movie--an' most references includin' that've one'a my favor-ites Doris Day, singin' to a boyfriend:
Gee, I feel just about ten feet tall, havin' a ball
Well,I feel just like a Pollyanna
I should worry, not for nothin'
Everybody loves me, yes they do
And I love everybody
Since I fell in love with
Fell in love with
Fell in love with you, (Call me a Pollyanna, do)
An' Doris REINVENTED herself 3x far as I kin tell--after bad marriages that left 'er broke (an' worse...), after her son was nearly killed by Charlie Manson--and she went on to rescue a TON of dogs! Pollyana's kin save us all--we kin use more've 'em too!
--That aughtta leave off on a high note! (an' leave behind that ai ai aiEEEE!)
I hear you loud and clear on the villains this time 'round. They are doing an impressive job at ushering in darkness, and I don't for a minute trust any one of them. The darkness they are perpetuating, however, is creating an equal and opposite reaction... light. I think that's why I believe it's possible that AI might engender a movement that's 180 degrees opposite. Not right away, but at some point.
Okay! No more ai ai aiEEEEE! :-) Let's focus on your preternatural skill at coming up with quotable phrases, such as "like the sound fx for a cheap steakhouse commercial." That's just perfect, Daisy.
A fine n' fair journey into this new an' uncharted territory (tear-a-tore-ee...) -- been' mullin' over writin' a lil' on this myself as it's now "in the air" (or the ether!) as it were.... I'm grateful you've tested out these tepid an' somewhat fetid/feted digital waters in which I wasn't wont ta wade, Mary; fersooth n' dang, I didn't have the stomach fer such an endeavor in terms of really takin' the thing fer a test drive. So bless ya fer takin' on the BEAST by actually usin' it!.... (Seriously, I see it as a purdy dark animal...).
Frankly I had imagined the "app" would better APE poetry--it was, we agree, just gawdawful monkeybiz (hoot worthy indeed!), much to my statisfaction--though admittedly the non-"Shaks-pur" attempt barked lesser doggeral an' tho not quite Bard-like, did not deserve the more fragrant air-biscuit as did the howler mutts that preceded...woof! That it wasn't "great" was a given--that it wasn't HALF bad...gave me pause....
I agree that whether or not ChatGPT or some "better mousetrap" colorizes the rest've our world (which seems to be the desire of some...) those've us that know how ta make "Ahrt" in one form 'er another (no matter how BIG or small...) will indeed be like that resonatin' reed gently vibratin' to the frequency of divine (or more earthly!) imagination.... In plain English--We'ze gonna keep on doin' our thing no matter...no need fer AI any more n' fish need bicycles as the sayin' goes....
BUT (an' aye, this is the rub...), those positioned well outside the world've "Ahrt" will actively make use've this devilish device, this devious dingus--I've no doubt it's gonna affect journalism as we (once) knew it--even silencin' them mockin'birds....because immitation is the most sincere compliment/complement.... COMPLY-mint... Not good. I also fear it's gonna screw the kids some'thin' awful--all've 'em too young to know to ignore it--to develop their OWN style, ta create sans gadgets n' gimicks an' the gimme gimmes of fast-delievered fakery.... If young'uns are usin' AI to produce their academic papers--WHO will remain that knows how ta write? WHO will remain who knows how ta think... cuz they kin use this blasted AI in place've their noggin'--an' might (eek...)
So we agree that this won't replace real "Ahrtists" (those already formed, those not made'a stamp'n' stretch silly putty...), BUT how many potential artists will it prevent from findin' their voices? HOW will it be used to "reshape" our reality? It may be of human "born" but it certainly is INhuman in it's makin'..... AI is Old Scratch an' frankly I'd like ta scratch it out!
Daisy, such good points you make. I was in your place for a good long while, not wanting to even set foot in the AI world... but decided that I needed/wanted to understand it before I eschewed it. In the process, I ended up asking it all sorts of questions about education, actually, because I share your concern about it really messing up the development of critical thinking in young people. I chose not to address that part in this essay, but might in a further one. Here was my ultimate takeaway: education as it is purveyed today is already compromised, irredeemably so, IMHO. And perhaps the introduction of this new, widely-available tech, will finally put a bullet in the old nag. Can't you see it? Professors and teachers will probably have to go back to in-person exams where students write in bluebooks with their own damn handwriting and their own damn thoughts... how else can anyone possibly ensure original thinking?
As far as potential artists not finding their own voices... I don't know. My instinct tells me that art has its own agency. It wants to be here, and it will find a way. :-)
Lordy Mary, I sure hope yer right re. students -- the so-called Pro-fessors (CON-fessers!) / Teachers (Leachers!) are so under-educated it ain't even funny! an' frankly some might jus' count as illiterate-- such that they likely wouldn't know a blue book (fer essay answers) if it fell from the sky an' landed on their noggins. So given what I've seen.... I'm not sure HOW that bullet in the ol' nag kin come about it what we used ta call "schools" and "colleges." 'Course those've us who know all this is just DEAD WRONG have (as you've shown) taught our kiddos how ta think fer themselves an' write their own dang papers sans "AI" (heck, I even thought "Cliff Notes" were a crime!).... I just hope this'll come back but given the AI-easy-way-out---I'm not so certain...
Ditto fer the Ahrts -- in theory Art DOES have it's own agency--and will find a way--but it'll be a harder path for those who pick up pen, paintbrush (a real one!) and a wood/metal instrument vs their 'puter.... cua a) given the ease an' commercial /institutional "upliftin' " of "FArt" (fake art--digital included) it is HARDER to do something "REAL" an' b) given the LACK of supplies--yup, we kin still git pencils n' paper but now even paints (oil) an' colored pencils (German) are all made (poorly) in Chyyyyyna an' it's harder ta git the best paper, the better brushes---even sheet music--an' this applies to my own kiddos, lord knows what else is lackin' such as in the sculpture world etc (fewer foundries, materials...) I just see too much goin' anti-tangible -- which is ramped up by that AI... so bless ya fer checkin' it out--as Groucho said succinctly!...., "I'm against it!"
You are right to question my conclusions, Daisy! I'm not certain of ANYTHING anymore, frankly, other than the power of love. Uncertainty is not a particularly comfortable place to hang out, but it keeps my heart open and allows me to stay curious -- both of which are necessary for my well-being on all levels. I'm not a pollyanna, but I am committed to relentlessly seeking out a shred of something good in most everything. Wait... hang on... I think I just defined "pollyanna"...🤣
Here is a fun thought: what if chatGPT puts pressure on humans to be original, again? I see ChatGPT as a modern day typewriter, filling in the blanks in a way that word processing did, a step up from the old click and clack machines. First key by key, then word by word, now theme by theme.
But.. what about this? It merely regurgitates and repackages what exists already. It is not generating new ideas or even observations. It is a little like an annoying acquaintance who expresses no original thoughts. Or a media that says so much but nothing important, or off script. Or a doctor who is bound by policies only to recommend according to a centralized protocol.
Checkmate, robot-like humans! Proceed without originality or creative thinking, and technology is on your level. Step it up, sheeple! Dull, herdlike thinking is becoming obsolete, or at least makes you indistinguishable from AI. :)
The creative process is, as you point out, divine and uniquely human. Let us all be more so.
Totally, beautifully, 100%. Such a fabulous point, CM. I love your examples -- they really drive home the short hop from mechanistic, robotic processes to repressive policies -- and the exhortation to step it up! Do you mind if I riff on this comment for a poem? I'll credit you, of course...
Now that I just wrote that, I have to laugh... so much for original thinking!! 😂
haha I would be honored!
Thanks! xox
Beautifully said - and a perfect response / aspiration!
Thank you!
Nice one Mary! I think the humans are still much, much further ahead of the robots even than the starfish are ahead of the spiders! (re your prior article). 50 years ago, M.I.T. professor of computer science Joseph Weisenbaum wrote what may still today be the best analysis ever written of the relationship between people and computers. (The fundamentals do not change). In it he said that 'it is not obvious that all human knowledge is encodable in information structures', and declared the idea that machines can be intelligent to be a 'grandiose fantasy'. It is really time we grew out of that fantasy, or simply stopped believing those who peddle it.
I had some conversations with ChatGPT myself over the past couple of weeks (and started an article of my own, which may or may not rise to the top of the pile that I simultaneously work on, and get published!). My conclusions were similar to yours I found myself concluding (and it will be the bottom line of my article, if it sees the light of day) that, wow, it's IMMENSELY impressive compared to a 1970's Casio calculator - but IMMENSELY unimpressive compared to a human being!
It's also programmed with enormous political bias, as many others have also discovered. To give but one example, when I asked about the Ukraine war, it told me Russia was inflicting violence and oppression. When I asked if the violence and oppression were similar to that inflicted by America in Iraq, I was told that it is not appropriate to make such comparisons.
'AI' is an immense (and colossaly expensive) sham - which will undoubtedly have many commercial applications, and equally certainly have very negative consequences for humanity. Not because the machines are smarter than us, but because they are not.
When more people realise that, we may have some chance of more appropriate application, and less damage.
Power to you for putting some light on the sham!
Oh, and regarding 'bring it on'.... I'm a little nervous throwing down that challenge, cos the fight will be an ugly one. But I admire the spirit! We need that!
Michael! Sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your excellent comments. I love Weisenbaum's assessment -- and I think it wise to not let our imaginations run away with us... haha! :-)
I've read that a non-biased version is now in the works, as well as an app that can determine immediately if an AI language tool was used on a particular piece of writing. Human beings are just AMAZING. That's where I'm putting my faith -- and that's why I say, bring it on.
I think you are putting your faith exactly in the right place Mary. No matter how relatively brilliant AI ever gets it will only ever be a pale shadow of humanity, and the spiritual world we are part of. It is perhaps yet another version of the 'fraudulent Oz' that you have written of in your latest article.
Here's another Wiezenbaum (I mis-spelled it before) story you might like - in 2006, aged 83, he gave some of his lifelong reflections on AI in an interview. (Published as a small but wonderful book called 'Islands in the Cyberstream'. Among those reflections he suggested that the drive behind AI is substantiallly an egoistic obsession with having the ability to 'create life'. (I think Mary Shelley wrote something about that too!) He noted that just about 100% of the computer scientists driving that forward have been male. Since it is clear that there are plenty of female scientists of sufficient calibre to be participating, but they aren't, he hypothesised that what is happening is a male-egoistic obsesssion with 'creating life' in which women don't need to participate - because they actually can!
I'm with you on this. I'm backing humans too. (Especially ones like you!) I only hesitate with the brave cry of 'bring it on' (which I nonetheless admire in you!) because I expect the battle to be a long and difficult one. That is both because of financial and political (i.e. control) imperatives, and because so many seem to have bought the story that machines can be intelligent. Though on the other hand the great majority of everybody I speak to, of every age group, tell me that no, they don't believe machines can be intelligent. There's another reason to beleive in people right there!
....OK - so bring it on!
This idea of Wiezenbaum's makes total sense to me. I've often wondered (and I know I'm not the first to wonder it) if man's (men's) obsession with war is a response to not being capable of creating life; as in, "I'll destroy life instead, as the second-best option to demonstrate human power."
I'm heartened to hear you echo my (possibly imprudent) taunt. We have WAY more going for us than we -- or they -- realize.
"..than we - or they - reallize." Absolutely!! xox
Art and artifice duking it out. :)
I, like you, am not worried. At least not yet. As much as I’ve played with both Midjourney and ChatGPT, it feels hallow and an imitation of that which is human. I love the analogy of how the body will ask for soup after the gummy bears. So true. The “real” is gonna be what’s sought after.
I directed “Art” fresh out of college. Actually, I directed it in college and then got offered to do so professionally with the same actors and it was our first paying gig. Since I got the chance to do it for so long, I kept tweaking and tweaking. Discovered the play wasn’t so much about art as it was about friendship. And it was heartbreaking. It left me with a sense of sadness and reflecting back on it now, it seems like a lifetime ago, and yet, it so perfectly encompasses my recent break up with theatre as well. Life is such a funny thing.
Your poem from last week still stays with me. Utterly hauntingly beautiful.
Why does it not surprise me that you directed "Art"? Seems more than a coincidence, Tonika -- how perfect that my essay delivers you back to an emotional experience of the separation, which is what brought us together in the first place. In high school, I had an English teacher who seemed convinced that the theme of every piece of literature we analyzed was irony. At the time, I thought she was just being lazy... now, having lived this funny thing called life as long as I have, I think she was right. :-)
Thanks for your comment on this, and on the poem. When the time is right, let's connect on that.
I see these “coincidences” as indicators for connection and exploration. Absolutely would love to collaborate on your last piece. I’ll text you this week. Have to get through a gruelling work week that ends tomorrow.
And your teacher sounds awesome! Indeed, I’ve reread several pieces that spoke to me at the time that speak to me differently now. Life is quite funny, indeed!
I see them that way, too. I think Deepak Chopra coined the term "synchrodestiny" and I've always liked that way of describing coincidence. Good luck getting through the gruel. Talk soon... xox
Hi Mary,
I'm just coming back down to earth after binging for the last few days of going back between YouTube videos and playing around with Chat GPT.
Though poetry is not my domain of comfort, I agree with you regarding the quality and accuracy of answers. I tested its edges on 'controversial' topics such the jabs and war. And then I narrowed in on a query about myself, and got the following ...
"Thank you for providing more details. Based on your information, it seems that you may be referring to Dr. Steven F. Martin who is a professor of comparative religion and philosophy at Temple University Japan (TUJ).
Dr. Martin received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and his research interests include philosophy of religion, comparative religion, and ethics. He has written several articles and books on these topics, including "Ethics Across the Professions: A Reader for Professional Ethics" and "The Bhagavad Gita: A Guidebook for Navigating the Battle of Life."
In addition to his work at TUJ, Dr. Martin has also taught at other universities in Japan, including Waseda University and Jissen Women's College. He is known for his engaging and insightful teaching style, and his ability to connect with students from diverse backgrounds.
I hope this information is helpful."
As far as I know, there has never been a Dr. Martin at TUJ (I dropped the doctoral program shortly after receiving tenure at Jissen), and though the topics mentioned are among my reading interests, I never taught comparative religion and philosophy at TUJ. I taught public speaking, freshman writing, and directed biology labs. I did teach at Waseda, but I can not take the flattery tag-line very seriously as the program played so loosely with the other 'facts'. On the other hand, I looked up the book, found it on Kindle Japan, and added it to my collection. If the Hindu mythos was good enough for Schopenhauer ... 😂
To further test its limits, I asked questions about specific fishing gear and techniques used in the Izu Islands south of Tokyo, and asked about several well know chain stores of fishing equipment in Japan. It spat out answers with confidence, but lacking in accuracy and downright 'mistakes' ... for example, all leisure sports fishermen in Japan are required to have a yearly fishing license costing about ¥4,000, the absence of which could be heavily penalized. There is no such license. I fed ChatGPT the prompt that I have lived and fished in Japan for 40 years and have never heard of or seen such a license. It apologized and hedged its mistake saying local laws vary and change quickly. This A.I. seems to have also been programmed to lie and hedge for questions it is not yet able to handle. Ha. Maybe coming close to emulating nature after all.
On the other hand, last Friday afternoon, while planning the classroom lesson for tomorrow at a different elementary school, I was again struck by the textbook's lack of quality regarding the psychology of foreign language education for young students, and the Japanese teachers who are wedded to the text because they are kept too busy to really sit down and think about it.
I mentioned ChatGPT to the teacher, whose son is struggling with English in his college classes, and challenged her to ask a question. She asked what is the oldest coffee shop in Kunitachi (the city I teach in), and damn if it didn't identify the name and location of a coffee shop dating back to the 1920's. Yesterday, NHK, the Japanese government news, had some news casters give a brief introduction and discussion of potential problems ... because ChatGPT is now in Japanese, and the sentences are nearly flawless ... much better than Google translate. I am looking forward to seeing that teacher tomorrow, hoping she looked it up or possibly saw the news about ChatGPT on tv.
Just last week, I attended a documentary screening and discussion at Rikkyo University regarding the gradual nationalistic, re-militarization of Japan ... as pushed by the central Ministry of Education through the choice of textbooks and teaching methods in compulsory education. I have seen the gradual change too, from reaching out to get a better grasp of the international world, towards a more insular form of Japanese exceptionalism. And about two months ago, the Ministry of Education announced a 3 year plan to pilot elementary and Jr. High education towards a goal of 95% reliance on digital textbooks ... beginning with English as a foreign language. I can see where something like ChatGPT could have a big impact, for good or evil.
The problem for the students is the same problem that you have in the domain of poetry, myself in foreign language education or fishing, and the general populace has regarding specific domains. The 'answers' this thing spits out are MUCH better than the average tweet or Facebook meme, and I'm afraid that's about all the majority of the working class are able or willing to handle. Collectively, the species, or at least the working class, has been deliberately dumbed down to the point that ChatGPT makes a better conversation partner or source of information than most fellow humans. For the bulk of human history, I guess 'information is power' has always been one of the machiavellian strait-jackets placed on the majority of us.
Like everyone else, I am not sure where A.I. is headed, but I am afraid it will be far more disruptive than the first wave of social media, maybe surpassing the advent of the internet itself. One thing I am coming to believe though, is that the capacity to communicate with A.I. through the right questions, the right prompts, will give an edge to those who already have enough background education to know what writing style to ask it to emulate, what format to use, what academic context or social register to use. For those who don't have that wide, liberal-arts background or personal insight and experience, this thing could create sociopathic echo chambers that might as well be alternate universes.
Before I go to bed tonight, I will play around a bit more with it with a few tough prompts ... for example, give a breakdown of Kantian ethics, and then show how well, or not, a globalist-collectivist agenda jives with it. Are the ends desirable, and do those ends justify the current means?
Interesting times a-coming.
Cheers Mary,
steve
ps. Among the YouTube videos I watched was of a guy laying out the prompts that would allow anyone to write a publishable e-book in about an hour. His example was on 'How to Train a Dog', and the only thing he knew about the topic was how to use the right prompts. ChatGPT wrote the book for him. Get ready for avalanche of such books.
But the reason prompting my ps, I just received an 'answer' to a question I posed regarding the conflict between collectivism and Kantian ethics, and sweet baby cheeses ... though not definitive, detailed, or exhaustive ... how many personal acquaintances could give a reply as good as the following? At the very least, it would make a good starting point for the chapters of a book, or a great starting point for the script of a decent YouTube video. The graphics and videos are now capable of being generated by prompts.
Question — "What are some of the conflicts between collectivist thought or globalist agendas and Kantian ethics?"
ChatGPT's response —
"There are several conflicts between collectivist thought or globalist agendas and Kantian ethics. Here are some examples:
Universal moral principles vs. cultural relativism: Kantian ethics holds that there are certain moral principles that are universally valid, regardless of cultural differences. However, collectivist thought may argue that moral values are culturally constructed and therefore relative to each culture. This conflict may arise when there is a clash between the universal principles of Kantian ethics and the cultural practices of collectivist societies.
Duty to self vs. duty to the collective: Kantian ethics places a strong emphasis on individual responsibility and the importance of doing what is right, even if it goes against personal desires. In contrast, collectivist thought emphasizes the importance of group identity and the duty to the collective. This conflict may arise when an individual's duty to do what is right conflicts with their duty to the collective.
Open borders vs. respect for national sovereignty: Globalist agendas may prioritize open borders and the free movement of people, goods, and services across national boundaries. However, Kantian ethics emphasizes the importance of respecting national sovereignty and the rights of individual nations to control their own borders. This conflict may arise when globalist agendas clash with the duty to respect the autonomy and sovereignty of individual nations.
Overall, the conflicts between collectivist thought or globalist agendas and Kantian ethics highlight the tension between individual responsibility and the duty to the collective, as well as the tension between universal moral principles and cultural relativism."
I rest my case.
Gulp. Well argued, counselor. There's a reason why I pitted ChatGPT against art; I was fairly certain AI would lose. What you've laid out here are the very compelling reasons that AI will surge in areas where creativity is less essential, and where, as you astutely point out, base knowledge to ask the "right" prompts is lacking. "Sociopathic echo chambers" exist already (great term), but I agree, AI may push them even farther apart.
I don't know if the net effect of this new tool will be good or ill -- and neither does ChatGPT, clearly. Time is the only judge here. In the meantime, a trip back through the Bhagavad Gita sounds appealing...
Thanks for this epistle of a comment. Have you considered publishing it on Count Chocula??
Hi Mary,
Stuck between the imposter syndrome, underachievement syndrome, and the local board of education making sure they've used me for all I'm worth before discarding ... I'm still struggling to formulate something worthy enough to post as an essay. But on the way to work this morning, some of the things you got me thinking about jelled into a comment to another writer who inspires me. Still trying to figure out why, but without a personal connection to original thinkers like yourself to bounce ideas around, I just can't seem to find a ground to stand on.
I feel like the scarecrow on meeting Dorothy on the way to Oz, picking up pieces of himself all over the road. But until I get myself sorted out, here is the comment you inspired ... https://stegiel.substack.com/p/totalitarianism/comments
Oops, lunch time is over. Cheers for now Mary. Gotta jump for the teachers here at today's Jr. High, and hope that the students find some meaning in that leap of faith. Looking forward to when I can have the time I need to really read and chat on substsack with creative problem solvers like you. 🥰
steve
Hey Steve, I just read your comment. Now, I mean this in the best way possible, so I hope you'll take it that way...
Dude, you are beyond worthy to post an essay. You don't need to write things that are perfect, or solve it all... you just need to throw your voice into the ring. Don't let the monkeys -- in your head or elsewhere -- get you down. All you need is courage. (Now who's referencing Oz?)
I'd read your stuff. So now you've got one subscriber already. That's where I started, and even though I'm nowhere NEAR the readership I'd like, knowing there were one or two people who cared what I wrote was enough.
It sounds like you'll have more time soon, yes? Jump in, the water's great, and it needs you... :-)
Hi Mary, and thank you for the encouragement. It is something that one doesn't receive much of in Japan, or perhaps it is the petty squabbling over shrinking resources in the workplace that has taught me to try and keep a low profile. Here, truly, the nail that sticks up get smashed down, if not dehumanized, through traumatic levels of marginalization. In a way, it might be a magnified version of what has has goes on world wide for millennia, but as an ethnic foreigner, male, and now beyond the age of leading man ... this would-be 'white knight' tends to be cast in the role of a Pancho Sanza (or the equivalent 'step and fetch it') for those whose silver spoons were born in their mouths by virtue of ethnicity alone, or those who viciously fight for their place-in-the-sun through any sociopathic means at their disposal.
The combination of a really, really, really bad season of hay fever over here, and still recovering (if ever) from a cancerous thyroid gland removal has me mulling the possibility, ha ... who am I kidding? ... the probability ... that I will take a paid leave of absence from next week's final classes at one of the Jr. Highs I work for, leaving me with just a couple of days of elementary school fun and games — before catching a plane to Arizona, and say my hellos and probable goodbys to a fading mom — and then return to Japan, only to file for unemployment, or become another underemployed token foreigner, or enter the digital landscape.
As I am tired of playing the kitchen-n. rather than a field slave for so many years, I will try to follow your advice. But wow, the environment is so competitive out in the real world, that I really need to find a collaborative community. If I find myself in 'competitive-mode', this is what I might find myself up against ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjObqq6we4U ... and this was 3 months ago. At the pace A.I. is moving, that might be the equivalence of 3 years ago, and I will have become a dinosaur by the time I return from Arizona and jump through the Japanese bureaucratic paper-hoops. I suspect the lack of freedom and autonomy for the working class over here is by conscious design, but my position and circumstances don't allow me the voice to say or do much about it.
In the meantime, it is good to have a small handful of real people like you to help keep me on that narrowing path of lingering sanity.
Thanks again Mary. Ooops. past 5 am here. Gotta make the 2nd of 3 cups of coffee before I am awake enough to shower up and head for another day at school.
Cheers, and though I am looking forward to diving back in some day soon, it is a race between what I might have always had the potential to do, and an accumulation of the ravages of time before my own body begins to fall apart. I can't help but to wonder, how many mute readers out there are in a similar position?
Take care, and looking forward to being inspired and invigorated by you and a few others.
steve
Wow! Mary, your writing just gets more wonderful all the time. I hardly know how to respond anymore.
One thing that comes through so clearly to me in your writing these days is that you are really loving life. You are so in tune with it, on so many different levels, it brings tears to my eyes. And you always give your readers something valuable to think about. I'd like to see ChatGPT do that!
Rocket, I love that you are still here, supporting my writing and holding space for the community that is growing here. Your observation is right on, friend. I AM loving life. As crazy as this world is right now, it's only pushing me toward more joy, more light -- I feel like it's almost an obligation to keep softening and opening my heart in response. I'm not sure if that makes sense... :-) xox
You bet it makes sense. Thank you, Mary, for this reply. What you are doing is the only rational response to this crazy world. Keep it up. I'm so glad our paths have crossed.
I am, too. So glad. xox
xox!! I keep forgetting.
As a fellow poet, thank you. Thank you for challenging the potential consequence, the reality, of AI - known elsewhere as 'the plagiarism engine - and revealing it for what it is. Empty.
We need poetry (and all the arts, actually) now more than ever. Keep writing! :-)
Fascinating times
Indeed! At least none of us is bored...
as a post-script, Suzy Weiss jus' published this:
https://www.thefp.com/p/dishonor-code-what-happens-when-cheating?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
The last half is about ChatGPT (I would like ta replace the first C with an S....); AI kin now git passin' grades on medical an' legal bar exams... It's sure bad 'nuff that kids are gettin' used to cheatin' (man that's TRULY awful ta hear...) but now that they can cheat with AI (no tell-tale ink marks on the palms...), the game's gotten far easier fer the kids, far harder fer the grown-ups (teachers).
Them blue books ya mentioned Mary ARE the way ta go! (As are paper ballots too ha ha!). Plus, it's somethin' ta save (though I guess teachers tossed 'em back in the day--that makes me sad as I betcha there was lots worth savin')....
Not that long ago folks were greenwarshed inta thinkin' using digital waz savin' paper and had no idear there are SO many renewable paper sources from fast-sproutin' forests (right here in America!) an' FEW digital resources that ain't dirty with heavy metals an' child labor buildin' them devilish devices...). It's all part of the same thing--to stop young'uns from writin' (and readin' BOOKS--real ones!).
Funny but true--not bein' succinct in nature, I wrote loooong an' hard on paper AND on old skool typewriters fer many a year an' ONLY "got" carpal (sounds like some fish gatherin' !) when I started tappin' on a 'puter at a job (an' it was a LOT less in terms of pages...). My girls know kids who have some sorta "texting thumb" issues from their phones. Landsakes, what this tech has wrought...
Can we go back? A step? Two? Not all the way to, say, 1985 but real paper an' ink sure was nice :-)
I read the article -- sooo glad someone wrote such a solid, in-depth piece about it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Almost exactly 6 years ago I wrote an essay called How to Raise a Generation of Cheaters (https://marypoindextermclaughlin.substack.com/p/how-to-raise-a-generation-of-cheaters-27180ec9f093) and it's frightening to see how in just a few years cheating has blossomed fully into a legit way of life. Those generations I highlighted are now in more and more positions of power and leadership. Is there any wonder why we find ourselves drowning in corruption?
I agree with you... paper and ink sounds mighty fine. I miss it. xox
Why sure! Will give yer other essay a read 2nite! So yup, that's a good theory thar 'bout the common corruption've today; I DO wonder if this cheatin' practice in "skool" (with teachers lookin' the other way...) formed the psyches (psych-ease!) that let our polly-tisch-ins' feel entitled to EASILY and confidently lie, cheat, steal an' remain blithely unaccountable to anyone sans the least flea bite'a guilt? Even darker... perhaps that WUZ the intent! (Channelin' Charlotte Iserbyte here...)
I think mebbe you are right and that IS sad. It used'ta be we could pick out the very few cheaters but now it seems like they are EVERYWHERE an' it's the honest kids that gotta be found like them hens teeth!
One more thing I like/d 'bout homeschoolin' (mebbe this also was something ya found in yer "GOOD" Waldorf experiences...)... there is NO reason ta cheat! In the homeschoolin' co-op classes my kiddos did there were no "rewards" or "punishments" and nothing to "cheat on"--no false setups that'd drive a kid crazy. If a kid couldn't do an assignment on time, more time was given--or an alternate (for the shy kid that didn't wanna recite, they could write, for a kid that didn't wanna write they could "tell"...) I DO think homeschoolin' keeps kids honest and not focused on "results" or scores an' I WORRY that "ed-you-CAUTION" now sets kids up ta be ruthless, focus on "grades" (ptooey!) an' not see what's important... And on that note, I'm a' gonna berl some chaga! xo's back at'cha an' ya to paper n' ink!
I listened to below and thought of your thought-provoking piece. You might appreciate this discussion. (They make a distinction between self-aware and sentient when it comes to AI. Self-aware, yes, but of itself only, not sentient in the way humans are. I hadn't considered that before. )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hv0wS6gLP0
Ooh, I will definitely have a look. That's SUCH a good distinction -- self-aware vs. sentient. And I wonder about the difference between self-aware and self-referential. Thanks for the rec, Kathleen!
While we're at it, I really enjoyed your comments on 2nd Smartest Guy in the World's latest. Yours (and Michael Warden's) were a refreshing breath of practical positivity.
Thanks, Mary! Too many talented and wonderful people out there for things to go full dystopian. You, being one.
Wull, life has no certainty--an' I hope you're right that AI will fizzle like the sound fx for a cheap steakhouse commercial -- but I'm certain yer right about LOVE and an open heart an' TRUE art survivin' (need not even be "good" just true an' done with conviction). I'm with ya seein' good whar ye kin--I feel makin' good lemonade outta some purdy sour lemons is part'a life. But this AI thing--the roots've which were planted long ago with the stuff ya mentioned (like auto-tuner, cgi, all that...).... hard ta see any shreds' ve good--see any in Dr. Evil n' Mini Me? (Schwabby n' Harari?...not me...) Now as fer Pollyanna, I'm a fan! The movie--an' most references includin' that've one'a my favor-ites Doris Day, singin' to a boyfriend:
Gee, I feel just about ten feet tall, havin' a ball
Well,I feel just like a Pollyanna
I should worry, not for nothin'
Everybody loves me, yes they do
And I love everybody
Since I fell in love with
Fell in love with
Fell in love with you, (Call me a Pollyanna, do)
An' Doris REINVENTED herself 3x far as I kin tell--after bad marriages that left 'er broke (an' worse...), after her son was nearly killed by Charlie Manson--and she went on to rescue a TON of dogs! Pollyana's kin save us all--we kin use more've 'em too!
--That aughtta leave off on a high note! (an' leave behind that ai ai aiEEEE!)
I hear you loud and clear on the villains this time 'round. They are doing an impressive job at ushering in darkness, and I don't for a minute trust any one of them. The darkness they are perpetuating, however, is creating an equal and opposite reaction... light. I think that's why I believe it's possible that AI might engender a movement that's 180 degrees opposite. Not right away, but at some point.
Okay! No more ai ai aiEEEEE! :-) Let's focus on your preternatural skill at coming up with quotable phrases, such as "like the sound fx for a cheap steakhouse commercial." That's just perfect, Daisy.
A fine n' fair journey into this new an' uncharted territory (tear-a-tore-ee...) -- been' mullin' over writin' a lil' on this myself as it's now "in the air" (or the ether!) as it were.... I'm grateful you've tested out these tepid an' somewhat fetid/feted digital waters in which I wasn't wont ta wade, Mary; fersooth n' dang, I didn't have the stomach fer such an endeavor in terms of really takin' the thing fer a test drive. So bless ya fer takin' on the BEAST by actually usin' it!.... (Seriously, I see it as a purdy dark animal...).
Frankly I had imagined the "app" would better APE poetry--it was, we agree, just gawdawful monkeybiz (hoot worthy indeed!), much to my statisfaction--though admittedly the non-"Shaks-pur" attempt barked lesser doggeral an' tho not quite Bard-like, did not deserve the more fragrant air-biscuit as did the howler mutts that preceded...woof! That it wasn't "great" was a given--that it wasn't HALF bad...gave me pause....
I agree that whether or not ChatGPT or some "better mousetrap" colorizes the rest've our world (which seems to be the desire of some...) those've us that know how ta make "Ahrt" in one form 'er another (no matter how BIG or small...) will indeed be like that resonatin' reed gently vibratin' to the frequency of divine (or more earthly!) imagination.... In plain English--We'ze gonna keep on doin' our thing no matter...no need fer AI any more n' fish need bicycles as the sayin' goes....
BUT (an' aye, this is the rub...), those positioned well outside the world've "Ahrt" will actively make use've this devilish device, this devious dingus--I've no doubt it's gonna affect journalism as we (once) knew it--even silencin' them mockin'birds....because immitation is the most sincere compliment/complement.... COMPLY-mint... Not good. I also fear it's gonna screw the kids some'thin' awful--all've 'em too young to know to ignore it--to develop their OWN style, ta create sans gadgets n' gimicks an' the gimme gimmes of fast-delievered fakery.... If young'uns are usin' AI to produce their academic papers--WHO will remain that knows how ta write? WHO will remain who knows how ta think... cuz they kin use this blasted AI in place've their noggin'--an' might (eek...)
So we agree that this won't replace real "Ahrtists" (those already formed, those not made'a stamp'n' stretch silly putty...), BUT how many potential artists will it prevent from findin' their voices? HOW will it be used to "reshape" our reality? It may be of human "born" but it certainly is INhuman in it's makin'..... AI is Old Scratch an' frankly I'd like ta scratch it out!
Daisy, such good points you make. I was in your place for a good long while, not wanting to even set foot in the AI world... but decided that I needed/wanted to understand it before I eschewed it. In the process, I ended up asking it all sorts of questions about education, actually, because I share your concern about it really messing up the development of critical thinking in young people. I chose not to address that part in this essay, but might in a further one. Here was my ultimate takeaway: education as it is purveyed today is already compromised, irredeemably so, IMHO. And perhaps the introduction of this new, widely-available tech, will finally put a bullet in the old nag. Can't you see it? Professors and teachers will probably have to go back to in-person exams where students write in bluebooks with their own damn handwriting and their own damn thoughts... how else can anyone possibly ensure original thinking?
As far as potential artists not finding their own voices... I don't know. My instinct tells me that art has its own agency. It wants to be here, and it will find a way. :-)
Lordy Mary, I sure hope yer right re. students -- the so-called Pro-fessors (CON-fessers!) / Teachers (Leachers!) are so under-educated it ain't even funny! an' frankly some might jus' count as illiterate-- such that they likely wouldn't know a blue book (fer essay answers) if it fell from the sky an' landed on their noggins. So given what I've seen.... I'm not sure HOW that bullet in the ol' nag kin come about it what we used ta call "schools" and "colleges." 'Course those've us who know all this is just DEAD WRONG have (as you've shown) taught our kiddos how ta think fer themselves an' write their own dang papers sans "AI" (heck, I even thought "Cliff Notes" were a crime!).... I just hope this'll come back but given the AI-easy-way-out---I'm not so certain...
Ditto fer the Ahrts -- in theory Art DOES have it's own agency--and will find a way--but it'll be a harder path for those who pick up pen, paintbrush (a real one!) and a wood/metal instrument vs their 'puter.... cua a) given the ease an' commercial /institutional "upliftin' " of "FArt" (fake art--digital included) it is HARDER to do something "REAL" an' b) given the LACK of supplies--yup, we kin still git pencils n' paper but now even paints (oil) an' colored pencils (German) are all made (poorly) in Chyyyyyna an' it's harder ta git the best paper, the better brushes---even sheet music--an' this applies to my own kiddos, lord knows what else is lackin' such as in the sculpture world etc (fewer foundries, materials...) I just see too much goin' anti-tangible -- which is ramped up by that AI... so bless ya fer checkin' it out--as Groucho said succinctly!...., "I'm against it!"
You are right to question my conclusions, Daisy! I'm not certain of ANYTHING anymore, frankly, other than the power of love. Uncertainty is not a particularly comfortable place to hang out, but it keeps my heart open and allows me to stay curious -- both of which are necessary for my well-being on all levels. I'm not a pollyanna, but I am committed to relentlessly seeking out a shred of something good in most everything. Wait... hang on... I think I just defined "pollyanna"...🤣