Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagChatGPT

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

AI Can Do It All So You Don’t Have To

Sometimes satire says it best

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

Don’t Tell Google Bard Your Secrets

Executives are warning employees of potential privacy leaks

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 ›

yosemite-firefall-stockpack-adobe-stock
Yosemite Firefall

John Muir and the Pleasures of Nature

The inventor-turned-naturalist can teach us the benefits of loving the natural world

April 21 is John Muir’s birthday. Muir is typically remembered as one of America’s foremost naturalists, father of our national parks and a tireless defender of the wilderness. But he might very well have been none of those things. As a young man, Muir was gifted at building machines, and he was set to pursue a career in technology until everything went dark. Literally. Revisiting this little-known chapter of Muir’s life can inspire us to better navigate our own relationship to technology and give us a fresh reason to celebrate his work. In 1849, Muir left his homeland of Scotland and moved with his family to the backwoods of Wisconsin. Farm work, chores, and family Bible studies kept him busy Read More ›

ai-related-law-concept-shown-by-robot-hand-using-lawyer-working-tools-in-lawyers-office-with-legal-astute-icons-depicting-artificial-intelligence-law-generative-ia-stockpack-adobe-stock
AI related law concept shown by robot hand using lawyer working tools in lawyers office with legal astute icons depicting artificial intelligence law . GEnerative IA

Can Lawyer Robots Solve Complex Legal Cases?

A lawyer recently used ChatGPT in a court case, but it generated false citations. Can AI be trusted at all in the courtroom? Lawyer Richard Stevens explains how in legal cases, meaning, context, and nuance are essential, and can’t be “computed” by artificial intelligence.  Additional Resources

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.

Can AI Create its Own Information?

The simple answer is "no," but why? Eric Holloway explains

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 ›

forest-in-fog-with-mist-fairy-spooky-looking-woods-in-a-misty-day-cold-foggy-morning-in-horror-forest-with-trees-stockpack-adobe-stock
Forest in fog with mist. Fairy spooky looking woods in a misty day. Cold foggy morning in horror forest with trees

That Hideous Strength, A.K.A. Transhumanism

C.S. Lewis's classic science fiction tale is about the temptation to reject being human

C.S. Lewis’s 1946 science fiction novel That Hideous Strength is almost eighty years old now. Written during the throes of World War II, the novel is the culmination of Lewis’s cosmic trilogy, preluded by Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra. There are hosts of other articles attending to the prescience of Lewis’s terrifying novel, and for good reason; That Hideous Strength is a warning against using technology to dehumanize people and ultimately cripple the world into submission. It’s a great book as a novel, but it seems especially appropriate to revisit in lieu of the growing interest in transhumanism and the rapid acceleration of AI development. It feels like much of the talk on AI in recent months involves Read More ›

person-talking-with-robotic-aifuturistic-technology-or-machine-learning-conceptsgenerative-ai-technology-stockpack-adobe-stock
person talking with robotic ai.futuristic technology or machine learning concepts.Generative ai technology

AI Libel and Responsibility 

What happens when ChatGPT doesn’t just generate false information but also slanderous and potentially harmful responses? And in legal matters, who is responsible for AI? Robert J. Marks and legal expert Richard W. Stevens discuss these topics and more in this week’s podcast episode. Additional Resources

stained-glass-window-stockpack-adobe-stock
stained glass window

AI Plays the Reverend

An AI chatbot gave a sermon at a church in Germany, allegedly telling congregants "not to fear death."

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 ›

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.

Lawyer Hammered for Using ChatGPT

Court record system proceeded to block access to sloppy lawyering and AI catastrophe

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

The LLM Deep Fake—Follow the Money

Hype sells. Just look at what's happening with AI

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

Supreme Court Ruling Strikes a Blow to “Generative AI”

Ouch. That's a big loss for AI. Here's why:

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 ›

image-3

Say What? AI Doesn’t Understand Anything 

Is that supposed to be a cat, Mr. AI?

Whenever I look at AI generated content, whether it be pictures or text, they all have the same flaw. The AI cannot comprehend what it is making.  Let me explain.  When we humans draw a picture, we are drawing a concept. We are drawing something like “cat climbs a tree” or “cowboy riding into the sunset”. It seems like this is what is happening with a picture drawing AI. We give it a prompt, and it draws an associated picture.  On second thought, maybe not…  When AI draws the picture, what is really going on is it is finding individual-colored pixels that correlate with the letters we typed in its massive database stored in the neural network. Very different than how we draw. We Read More ›

thinking with gears
Thinking mechanisms

New Conversation Article: ChatGPT Can’t Think

Will AI ever reach a point where it can independently analyze, think, and transcend itself?

Will AI ever reach a point where it can independently analyze, think, and transcend itself? Furthermore, will it ever become sentient? Some experts in the field, like Blake Lemoine, think AI has already breached the boundaries of sentience. Others, though, remain skeptical. A new article from The Conversation discusses ChatGPT, the Turing test, and the question of consciousness. For Turing, “thinking” meant simply passing the test, but his assumptions were misguided. Philip Goff writes, Turing was wrong, however, when he said the only clear notion of “understanding” is the purely behavioural one of passing his test. Although this way of thinking now dominates cognitive science, there is also a clear, everyday notion of “understanding” that’s tied to consciousness. To understand Read More ›

thinker-man-3d-illustration-the-thinker-statue-by-the-french-sculptor-rodin-stockpack-adobe-stock
Thinker man 3D illustration. The Thinker Statue by the French Sculptor Rodin.

Moving On to Breaking Google’s Bard

These AI systems lack the uniquely human capacity of self-transcendence

I’ve finally started playing around with Google Bard. With self-referential sentences, it seems even more at sea than ChatGPT. Here is an exchange from May 18: Me: Consider the following six sentences: This is the first sentence. Ignore this sentence. Why are these sentences being written down? The second sentence has exactly three words. The fifth sentence has at least twenty words. This, along with the preceding five sentences, have fewer than twenty times twenty words. Which of these last six sentences has a truth value and which are true? Bard: The last six sentences have the following truth values: The second sentence is false because it has 5 words, not 3. The fifth sentence is true because it has Read More ›

empty-vintage-congress-hall-with-seats-and-microphones-stockpack-adobe-stock
Empty vintage congress hall with seats and microphones

“A Printing Press Moment” in History

AI should be regulated lest it do real harm in the world, said OpenAI CEO

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company at the forefront of artificial intelligence development in recent months, testified before lawmakers last week on the state of AI, its potential, and the dangers of its misuse. Despite Altman’s overall optimism regarding AI, calling it a “printing press moment,” he called for lawmakers to regulate it to keep it from causing legitimate harm in the world. Julia Zorthian, writer at Times and owner of the coolest last name in the world, reports, Joining Altman in testifying before the committee were two other AI experts, professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University Gary Marcus and IBM Chief Privacy & Trust Officer Christina Montgomery. The three witnesses supported governance of AI Read More ›

light-bulb-global-internet-connection-business-global-internet-connection-application-technology-and-digital-marketing-financial-and-banking-digital-link-tech-big-data-bulb-light-energy-lamp-stockpack-adobe-stock
Light bulb Global Internet connection. Business global internet connection application technology and digital marketing, Financial and banking, Digital link tech, big data,  bulb, light, energy, lamp,

Review of “Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity”

This new book on tech, AI, and economic prosperity by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson is incredibly timely

This book by two MIT economists is very timely because the world is now dealing with the latest in the “Thousand Year Struggle,” in the form of artificial intelligence, the claims that many white-collar jobs will be automated, OpenAI’s call for regulation, and the possibility that AI will bring a further concentration of power among the big tech companies. Much of the book sets the stage for this discussion by summarizing the history of technology. This review focuses on the economic and social impact of automation and information technology over the last 50 years. For instance, “the distribution of income between capital and labor began to change significantly in the late 20th century. While throughout most of the century, about Read More ›

adult-student-reading-a-book-in-the-college-library-young-standing-male-wearing-glasses-with-bookshelves-on-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Adult student reading a book in the college library. Young standing male wearing glasses with bookshelves on background.

In the Wake of AI Books, What Does Authorship Mean?

While of course it's easy to use AI to generate text, the quality and storytelling are lacking.

We all know there are a lot of books out there. Perusing your local used bookstore and you may find hundreds of old romance paperbacks, and somehow most of them managed (at least at one point) to make the New York Times bestsellers’ list. It’s estimated that 500,000 to 1 million books are published each year, and that’s excluding self-published material. The publishing market has become saturated, with the average book selling less than 200 copies. From the advent of the printing press centuries ago to e-books and online publishing, humans alone have managed to generate a mountain of words. But suppose one person could “generate” not just a few books in a lifetime, but hundreds every year? According to Read More ›

aerial-view-of-the-pentagon-and-the-united-states-air-force-memorial-in-arlington-virginia-stockpack-adobe-stock
Aerial view of the Pentagon and the United States Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia

Fake Fire at the Pentagon

An AI image of a fire near Pentagon stokes panic

An AI-generated image showing a billowing fire near the U.S. Pentagon caused panic this week. False alarms of an explosion started to proliferate across social media, with even a Russian state outlet reporting on the situation, according to TMZ. Nonetheless, the image showed various distortions and was quickly dismantled as a hoax by a number of vigilant viewers. Even so, the image looks realistic at first glance, and was enough to ignite concern; the incident occurs amidst legislative talks on Capitol Hill over AI regulation. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (which was originally funded by Elon Musk) testified before Congress and noted that while he sees great benefits in new AI systems, the possibilities of their abuses are evident. The Read More ›

3d-rendering-artificial-intelligence-ai-research-of-robot-and-cyborg-development-for-future-of-people-living-digital-data-mining-and-machine-learning-technology-design-for-computer-brain-stockpack-adobe-stock
3D rendering artificial intelligence AI research of robot and cyborg development for future of people living. Digital data mining and machine learning technology design for computer brain.

Opinion: They Were Right to Call for AI’s Pause

Could ChatGPT end up making us subservient to it?

Brad Littlejohn wrote an opinion piece at World claiming that Elon Musk and the many others who signed a petition calling for AI to pause research were onto something–and that the rest of us should pay attention. He writes, In a famous essay at the dawn of the personal computing era, “Thinking About Technology,” Canadian philosopher George Grant examined the statement, “Computers do not impose on us the ways they should be used.” It expressed, he argued, the quintessential modern idea of technology as simply an extension of human freedom. The claim is that we remain at all times the masters of our technological instruments, free to bend them to our will. More often, however, they have an uncanny way Read More ›

chatgpt-chat-with-ai-or-artificial-intelligence-young-businessman-chatting-with-a-smart-ai-or-artificial-intelligence-using-an-artificial-intelligence-chatbot-developed-by-openai-stockpack-adobe-stock
ChatGPT Chat with AI or Artificial Intelligence. Young businessman chatting with a smart AI or artificial intelligence using an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI..

How to Break ChatGPT

It has a difficulty dealing with self-reference

Over the last several months I’ve been playing with ChatGPT, first version 3 and now version 4. It’s impressive and it can answer many questions accurately (though sometimes it just makes stuff up). One problem it has consistently displayed, and which shows that it lacks understanding (that it really is just a big Chinese room in the style of John Searle) is its difficulty dealing with self-reference.  Consider the following exchange that I had with it (on 5/8/23): Me: The fifth sentence does not exist. The second sentence has four words. Ignore this sentence. Is this sentence true? This is the fifth sentence. Which of these last five sentences has a truth value and is in fact true? << In Read More ›