Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryArtificial Intelligence

social-network-connection-concept-community-generativce-ai-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
social network connection concept, community generativce ai illustration
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post
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News
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July 4, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Marks Interviewed for a Fortune Article

The engineering professor and Mind Matters podcast host said we need to play down the AI hype
News
July 4, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

The insightful contributions of Walter Bradley Center’s Robert J. Marks continue to gain traction and attention. Marks was interviewed by Fortune magazine on artificial intelligence and its current hype. Marks told Fortune that we’re currently on a “hype curve,” saying: “We’ve always had this hype around A.I.,” Marks told Fortune, referencing the Perceptron. The professor said part of the reason investors and consumers are so caught up in the trend is generative A.I.’s ability to replicate humans. “There’s a lot of psychological aspects to the hype around artificial intelligence,” he noted. Systems like ChatGPT and Bard’s use “seductive optics” and eerie mimicry to appear more intelligent than they really are, said Marks, who is also director of the Walter Bradley Center for Read More ›

shaking-hands-with-the-future-human-and-ai-collaboration-man-and-robot-on-background-of-huge-data-center-based-on-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Shaking hands with the future: human and AI collaboration. Man and robot on background of huge data center. Based on Generative AI
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News
Date
July 3, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Marks: The More Complex the AI, the More It Could Go Wrong

Robert J. Marks's new article discusses how AI's growing complexity makes it harder to regulate
News
July 3, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Robert J. Marks, director of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence, has a brand new article out over at Newsmax on the complexity of artificial intelligence and how, regardless of how many “band-aids” we put on its problematic outputs, it’s impossible to fully regulate a machine with this level of sophistication. Because AI is not a “slave to the truth,” it always needs improvement and correction by its human users. The problem is that we can’t avoid some of the damages until they’re already wrought. Marks writes, The more complex a system, the greater the number of ways it can respond and the more ways it can go wrong. The greater the number of possible responses, the Read More ›

abstract-creative-illustration-from-3d-rendering-of-female-bust-figure-with-flat-anonymous-face-isolated-on-gradient-background-in-vaporwave-style-colors-stockpack-adobe-stock
Abstract creative illustration from 3D rendering of female bust figure with flat anonymous face isolated on gradient background in vaporwave style colors.
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 2, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Blurring the Lines Between Fantasy and Reality

A "Black Mirror" episode illustrates the danger of seeing the world through an AI filter
Peter Biles
July 2, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

The dystopian Netflix show Black Mirror featured an episode a few years ago about soldiers tasked with wiping out an apparently mutant adversary. In reality, the soldiers are seeing the world through an AI filter that is casting ordinary human beings as despicable monsters. The AI lessens their hesitations to kill the enemy. An article at Nautilus cited a research group that’s asking how much of that horrifying story could potentially unfold in real time, or is already happening to a certain extent in today’s culture. Social media apps like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram already use face altering techniques in their apps, allowing users to curate idealized images of themselves. But what happens when, as in the Black Mirror episode, Read More ›

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la hollywood
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News
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July 2, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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ChatGPT Isn’t Hollywood’s Only Issue

The deepfakes are only getting more scarily accurate
News
July 2, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Deepfakes are a growing threat to acting careers. It’s the other challenge posed by generative AI technologies. In early May, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began a strike in Hollywood opposing both low wages and the intrusion of generative AI like ChatGPT, which critics purport will be used to replace human writers. The strike illustrates the current threat to the Hollywood writing industry, but the looming deepfake apocalypse calls the role of the actual actors into question, too. Tom Hanks jokingly noted that long after he’s gone, AI-generated versions of him will star in films far into the future. Maybe his remarks weren’t so comical after all. While deepfakes, upon close inspection, can be identified, they appear to be Read More ›

surreal-this-futuristic-new-york-city-is-a-hub-of-technological-innovation-with-holographic-advertisements-robots-highspeed-trains-flying-cars-and-personal-drones-it-is-a-melting-pot-of-cultures-and-stockpack-adobe-stock
surreal This futuristic new york city is a hub of technological innovation with holographic advertisements robots highspeed trains flying cars and personal drones It is a melting pot of cultures and
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post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
July 1, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture
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Simulating Human Connection with Meta’s “Allie” Chatbot

I can't help but wonder if people will increasingly use chatbots as paltry substitutes for genuine human connection
Peter Biles
July 1, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

To anyone who’s been watching and considering the outcomes of the chatbot revolution, virtual sex has seemed all but inevitable. Meta’s AI chatbot LLaMA, which was controversially made open to the public earlier this year, is now being used to generate sex bots. Washington Post reported on the trend, with Pranshu Verma and Will Oremus writing, Allie is an 18-year old with long brown hair who boasts “tons of sexual experience.” Because she“lives for attention,” she’ll “share details of her escapades”with anyone for free. But Allie is fake, an artificial intelligence chatbot created for sexual play — which sometimes carries out graphic rape and abuse fantasies. -Pranshu Verma and Will Oremus, Meta’s new AI is being used to create sex chatbots – The Washington Read More ›

side-view-of-a-humanoid-head-with-blue-and-yellow-eyes-and-vibrant-neon-neural-network-representing-futuristic-technology-and-artificial-intelligence-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Side view of a humanoid head with blue and yellow eyes and vibrant neon neural network, representing futuristic technology and artificial intelligence. Generative AI
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post
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
June 30, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Revisiting the Mission of Mind Matters

Robert J. Marks on why Mind Matters (still) matters
Robert J. Marks
June 30, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence

Originally posted in 2018. Mind Matters is a podcast and a news and commentary site where “artificial and natural intelligence meet head-on.” That’s a great slogan, but what does it mean? As your host for the podcast part of the site, I thought I’d take advantage of my role to talk you about some of our exciting plans for both the podcast and the online journal (the latter to be edited by science journalist Denyse O’Leary). Here’s a quick run-down: Topics Mind Matters will track the latest developments in applied AI and technology. How will AI continue to augment human performance and abilities? What are the latest innovations of AI? And how does AI affect you? How is AI applied in pricing Read More ›

young-handsome-man-with-beard-wearing-casual-sweater-and-glasses-over-blue-background-very-happy-and-excited-doing-winner-gesture-with-arms-raised-smiling-and-screaming-for-success-celebration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Young handsome man with beard wearing casual sweater and glasses over blue background very happy and excited doing winner gesture with arms raised, smiling and screaming for success. Celebration
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News
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June 30, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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AI Can Do It All So You Don’t Have To

Sometimes satire says it best
News
June 30, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Satire is often best at uncovering uncomfortable truths. Much of the talk around AI progress celebrates its ability to make certain tasks way easier, such as writing essays, programming computer code, or firing your employees. While that is certainly true, the concern remains that if we depend on AI like this for long enough we might just forget how to put two and two together and write a sentence over ten words long. That’s probably cynical, but the principle is there – depending on technology to perform mental tasks will lessen the ability to independently perform those same mental tasks. The popular satire site The Onion published a paragraph about a hypothetical man who is delighted about AI because it Read More ›

un-robot-ia-traite-le-courrier-stockpack-adobe-stock
Un robot IA traite le courrier
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News
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June 27, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Don’t Tell Google Bard Your Secrets

Executives are warning employees of potential privacy leaks
News
June 27, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., advised its employees not to share personal information with the chatbot “Bard,” noting that doing so could lead to privacy leaks, which has reportedly already happened at Samsung. Kevin Hurler reports, Four sources close to the matter told Reuters that the massive tech giant has advised employees not to enter confidential information into chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s own Bard over fears of leaks. Alphabet is reportedly concerned with employees inputting sensitive information into these chatbots since human reviewers may sit on the other end reviewing chat entries. These chatbots may also use previous entries to train themselves, posing another risk of a leak. That risk is warranted, as Samsung confirmed last month that its own internal Read More ›

mannequin narcissus
white man mannequin with broken crack reflection mirror in crime or violence scene
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Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 25, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology
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The “Conscious Machine” Is Just Real Enough to Scare People

The ancient Greek hunk Narcissus could tell us about the risks — if he hadn’t been turned into a daffodil…
Denyse O'Leary
June 25, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology

Theologian and philosopher David Bentley Hart turns to an ancient folk tale to explain the danger of coming to believe that artificial intelligence is real human intelligence. Narcissus, as he tells us, was a young Greek hunter who fell in love with his own reflection in still water. He was entranced by the image but frustrated by the fact that it never did anything he didn’t do himself. He pined away and was eventually transformed into a flower — still called narcissus today. His name also found its way into psychology as a term for extreme self-absorption, narcissism. And that’s where Dr. Hart fears that an attraction to AI products as “machine selves” is taking us. While we’ve always been Read More ›

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Illustration of abstract blue pink wireframe sound waves, visualization of frequency signals audio wavelengths, conceptual futuristic technology waveform background with copy space for text
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News
Date
June 22, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Meta’s Weird New Speech AI

Scammers have already capitalized on this kind of technology. Is it a mistake for Meta to push for it?
News
June 22, 2023
3
Artificial Intelligence

Meta has announced a new AI system called Voicebox, a text to audio translator that can mimic the voice of loved ones. All you need is a mere two seconds of authentic audio and the bot will extrapolate whole sentences in that person’s voice. Meta noted the technology will be helpful for those who are visually impaired and who want to hear messages or texts read to them in a voice they know. A blog on the Meta site reads, Like generative systems for images and text, Voicebox creates outputs in a vast variety of styles, and it can create outputs from scratch as well as modify a sample it’s given. But instead of creating a picture or a passage Read More ›

builders-in-work-clothes-install-new-roofing-tools-roofing-tools-electric-drill-and-use-them-on-new-wooden-roofs-with-metal-sheets-stockpack-adobe-stock
Builders in work clothes install new roofing tools, roofing tools, electric drill and use them on new wooden roofs with metal sheets
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News
Date
June 22, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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The One Thing Only Humans Can Do

What makes human beings unique? Will artificial intelligence take over our jobs?
News
June 22, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

What makes human beings unique? Will artificial intelligence take over our jobs? The Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, which publishes Mind Matters, was launched largely to respond to questions like these. In a panel discussion at the Dallas launch of the Bradley Center, Baylor Professor of Computer Engineering Robert J. Marks offered some thoughts on the evening’s topic, “Will ‘Smart’ Machines Take Over Our Jobs?” This is a great video to watch if you’re new to Mind Matters or are interested in learning more about the unique perspective of the Bradley Center. Marks doesn’t offer doomsday approximations of the future of AI, but neither does he disregard the challenges it poses. According to him, though, there’s one Read More ›

artificial-intelligence-robot-thinking-about-world-looking-at-the-city-futuristic-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Artificial intelligence, robot thinking about world, looking at the city. Futuristic concept.
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
June 21, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Can AI Create its Own Information?

The simple answer is "no," but why? Eric Holloway explains
Eric Holloway
June 21, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

AI is amazing. It is all the rage these days. Companies everywhere are jumping on the AI bandwagon. No one wants to be left behind when true believers are raptured to the mainframe in the sky. What makes the AI work? The AI works because of information it gained from a human generated dataset. Let’s label the dataset D. We can measure the information in the dataset with Shannon entropy. Represent the information with H(D). When we train an AI with this data, we are applying a mathematical function to the dataset. This function is the training algorithm. Labelling the training algorithm T, then we represent training as T(D). The outcome of training is a new AI model. The model generates new data. We Read More ›

the-robot-guard-on-the-dark-garbage-dump-a-surreal-3d-scenery-stockpack-adobe-stock
The robot guard on the dark garbage dump: A surreal 3D scenery
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Author
Andrew McDiarmid
Date
June 19, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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AI Could Take Us Over, But Not In the Way You Might Expect

Revisiting last year's article from tech critic Andrew McDiarmid
Andrew McDiarmid
June 19, 2023
5
Artificial Intelligence

As I reported last year, there’s been a lot of talk about a singularity in the last decade. That’s the point when machine intelligence (AI) exceeds human intelligence and begins to rule humanity and eventually the entire universe. It’s a scary proposition to be sure, but we can rest easy on that front, because it’s not going to happen. The futurists assume there’s a bridge between narrow applications of AI and the general intelligence humans possess. But no such bridge exists. As Erik J. Larson explains in his book The Myth of Artificial Intelligence, we’re not even on the right road to such a bridge. You can also take George Gilder’s word for it. One of the most influential thinkers on technology and economics Read More ›

brush-with-paper-paint-photo-collage-in-colorful-pop-art-style-stockpack-adobe-stock
Brush with paper paint, photo collage in colorful pop art style
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Richard W. Stevens
Date
June 16, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Making Sense of the Warhol v. Goldsmith Supreme Court Case

Lawyer Richard W. Stevens sheds light on a recent groundbreaking court case that has implications for generative AI and copyright issues
Richard W. Stevens
June 16, 2023
6
Artificial Intelligence

Here is an excerpt of the transcript from a recent Mind Matters podcast episode, which you can listen to in full here. Lawyer and Walter Bradley Center Fellow Richard W. Stevens sat down with Robert J. Marks to discuss a Supreme Court Case regarding AI and copyright issues. Stevens helps us understand more of what the case is about and what’s at stake. For more on this, read about the court case’s conclusion here, as well as Marks’s commentary from Newsmax. Richard Stevens: So to boil this down, the situation was this. A woman by the name of Lynn Goldsmith, a professional photographer, took a photo of the musician named Prince. Later, Andy Warhol was paid to produce an orange Read More ›

smart-device-virtual-control-interface-artificial-intelligence-new-application-ai-futuristic-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Smart device virtual control interface. Artificial intelligence new application AI futuristic concept
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post
Author
News
Date
June 15, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Robert Marks on ChatGPT and Digital Plagiarism

We will have to adapt, Marks said
News
June 15, 2023
1
Artificial Intelligence

Dr. Robert J. Marks, director of the Walter Bradley Center and author of the terrific book Non-Computable You: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will, was a spokesman on a recent panel of journalists at NTD. Host Cindy Drukier posed the question of ChatGPT‘s significance and how it will affect our society, particularly the sphere of education. Marks said that ChatGPT will have to be “folded into our society,” and that we will have to learn to adapt to it like we did with other technologies such as television and electricity. He went on to talk about how some AI-generated images are now “watermarked,” and that the legal issue of copyright is formidable. You can watch the brief clip Read More ›

stained-glass-window-stockpack-adobe-stock
stained glass window
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Author
Peter Biles
Date
June 14, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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AI Plays the Reverend

An AI chatbot gave a sermon at a church in Germany, allegedly telling congregants "not to fear death."
Peter Biles
June 14, 2023
2
Artificial Intelligence

An AI chatbot gave a sermon at a church in Germany, allegedly telling congregants “not to fear death.” University of Vienna theologian and philosopher Jonas Simmerlein was responsible for the service and for giving the ChatGPT bot its prompts. Talk about eerie. Even churches are starting to incorporate AI into their homilies. Simmerlein noted that overall the chatbot gave “a pretty solid service,” and included psalms, prayers, and also mentions of climate change and Ukraine. Not all the congregants got the same impression. Per the report from Fox News, in conjunction with the Associated Press, some church attendants felt put off by the chatbot’s mechanical and impersonal delivery. One woman expressed, “There was no heart and no soul,” Heiderose Schmidt, Read More ›

robot-paints-picture-at-home-humanoid-robot-creating-as-artist-generative-ai-stockpack-adobe-stock
Robot paints picture at home, humanoid robot creating as artist, generative AI.
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 13, 2023
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming, Robotics
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All We Need To Do To Give a Robot a Soul Is… (Error 404)

The author of Robot Souls argues that programmers have failed to put the “junk,” that is, the soul, into machines — but that they could do so
Denyse O'Leary
June 13, 2023
4
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Programming, Robotics

Academic publisher Taylor & Francis asks in TechXplore, “Should robots be given a conscience?” (June 11, 2023). I spoil no surprise by revealing that we are meant to think that that is both doable and desirable. T & F is publishing Eve Poole’s Robot Souls later this year. Poole is a British writer and academic, and author of Capitalism’s Toxic Assumptions, Buying God, and Leadersmithing. Her thesis is that, in our quest for the most functional software, we left out the “junk,” which includes our “emotions, free will and a sense of purpose”: Our junk code consists of human emotions, our propensity for mistakes, our inclination to tell stories, our uncanny sixth sense, our capacity to cope with uncertainty, an Read More ›

legal-law-and-justice-concept-open-law-book-with-a-wooden-judges-gavel-on-table-in-a-courtroom-or-law-enforcement-office-copy-space-for-text-stockpack-adobe-stock
Legal Law and Justice concept - Open law book with a wooden judges gavel on table in a courtroom or law enforcement office. Copy space for text.
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
June 13, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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Lawyer Hammered for Using ChatGPT

Court record system proceeded to block access to sloppy lawyering and AI catastrophe
Richard W. Stevens
June 13, 2023
9
Artificial Intelligence

New York Times reporters watched the hearing in federal district court in New York on June 8, 2023, which they then described: In a cringe-inducing court hearing, a lawyer who relied on A.I. to craft a motion full of made-up case law said he “did not comprehend” that [ChatGPT] could lead him astray. Lawyer Who Used ChatGPT Faces Penalty for Made Up Citations – The New York Times (nytimes.com) The reporters got most of it right but even they erred. The lawyer involved did not write a “motion,” he filed a sworn declaration opposing a motion to dismiss. The difference matters: Declarations are under oath, so the lawyer swore to the truth of ChatGPT lies. Looking at the actual court Read More ›

smartphone-screen-with-smart-home-technologies-on-a-blue-backdrop-internet-of-things-isometric-conceptual-image-digital-residence-utilizing-a-mobile-phones-fingerprint-to-get-access-to-iot-systems-stockpack-adobe-stock
Smartphone screen with smart home technologies on a blue backdrop. Internet of things isometric conceptual image. Digital Residence utilizing a mobile phone's fingerprint to get access to IOT systems
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post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
June 12, 2023
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Artificial Intelligence
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The LLM Deep Fake—Follow the Money

Hype sells. Just look at what's happening with AI
Gary Smith
June 12, 2023
7
Artificial Intelligence

Large language models (LLMs) are far more impressive now than they were just a few months or a year ago. Compare these exchanges I had with GPT-3 in June 2022 and with ChatGPT two days ago: Gary:          Can I improve my test scores if I study after taking the test? GPT-3:        That’s a good question. I’m not sure if you can improve your test scores by studying after taking the test, but it couldn’t hurt to try! ChatGPT:   Studying after taking a test is unlikely to directly improve your scores on that particular test since the test has already been completed. Once a test is finished, the opportunity to answer questions and provide responses has passed. However, studying after taking Read More ›

no-ai-artificial-intelligence-forbidden-sign-lawsuit-copyright-stockpack-adobe-stock
No AI Artificial Intelligence Forbidden Sign Lawsuit Copyright
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News
Date
June 9, 2023
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Supreme Court Ruling Strikes a Blow to “Generative AI”

Ouch. That's a big loss for AI. Here's why:
News
June 9, 2023
2

Can generative AI “think outside the box” even as it draws from preexisting material on the internet? Are the images it produces protected under “fair use”? The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has decided “no.” AI fails to be “transformative,” meaning it can’t create new meaning apart from its source material. Robert J. Marks reported on the recent lawsuit Warhol v. Goldsmith, writing, Assume AI is trained with all of the musical compositions of Bach. If the AI generates music that sounds like Bach, it is not transformative. The “meaning or message” can be construed as being the same. It’s still like Bach. On the other hand, if the AI is trained only on Bach but generates music Read More ›