On November 30, 2022, Open AI launched a generative AI chatbot, ChatGTP, as open source, making the latest generation of AI technologies widely available. Without hyperbole, the launch ranks with the Gutenberg Press, photography and the Internet in significance. Generative AI presents a philosophical and practical challenge not experienced since the start of the Enlightenment, a tectonic explosion of humankind. AI image generators learn to make artworks based on large data sets with billions of images that have been scraped from the Internet. ChatGPT generates realistic responses by making guesses about which fragments of text should follow other sequences, based on a statistical model that has ingested billions of examples of text pulled from all over the Internet. That means that artists who upload their works to the Internet may be unwittingly helping to train their algorithmic competitors. The rapid deployment of generative AI and its potential impact on human society and economics is now clearly in the spotlight. The specter of AI has haunted humanity since the mid 20th century, yet until recently has remained a distant project, something that many believed belongs in science fiction more than in serious scientific and political debate. It boils down to one thing: the ability to manipulate and generate language with words, sounds and images. Many believe AI models are rapidly approaching a level where they might be considered artificial general intelligence, or “A.G.I.” the industry term for human-level machine intelligence. However, it is even harder to grasp the exponential speed at which these tools are developing more advanced and powerful capabilities. Since the lynchpin of this book is imagination, and in an effort to stay au courant and to add intrigue to the Sequoia project, seven de novo Sequoia images have been generated by DALL-E and seven questions were posed to GPT. A new poem describing the beauty of the trees was easily generated. I included these generative essays not so much for information but as illustration of the power of these bots, as we are poised on the cusp of a true revolution in communication and information dissemination never before imagined in history to change the nature of work, learning, creativity, and the tasks of daily life.
The speed of accomplishing these tasks is awe inspiring, as is the factual and grammatical correctness of the answers to the posed questions. It is truly mind boggling. The downside, however, is that answers may contain errors called “hallucinations”, which present their fictions so confidently that viewers accept them as fact.
Recently, an AI artist won first place in a photography competition but refused the award as he stated AI endeavors should not be conflated with true photography and should be considered in a separate category.
Reflecting this, the US Copyright Office continues to refuse copyright status to AI-generated works but is reviewing the issue on a case-by-case basis, predicated on the degree of “human authorship.”
The computer science behind generative AI is moving so fast that innovations emerge every month. Recently researchers described an AI that could translate the private thoughts of human subjects by analyzing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans which measure the flow of different regions of the brain.
Against that backdrop, a former Google artificial intelligence pioneer spoke out against the risks and dangers to society, thus advancing the impetus for government control of the technology. Additionally, 1,125 prominent AI researchers have called for a six-month moratorium on advanced AI development until they will be confident that its effects will be positive and risks manageable – a step back from a dangerous race. They are calling for an international watchdog to minimize existential risk.
Recently the Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into OpenAI (ChatGPT) over whether the chatbot has harmed consumers through its collection of data and its publication of false information on individuals. Suits have also been filed accusing the companies of copyright infringement. However, as this is being written, the explosion of advanced generative AI swirls unabated, and we have clearly reached a societal inflection point. By illustration, ChatGPT rocketed to over 100 million users within two months, and the website generated 1.6 billion visits in June 2023!
David Brooks has opined that AI “is no match for human understanding, self-awareness, concepts, emotions, desires...and lacks the depth of a human mind” (New York Times, July 14, 2023) Descartes declared in Discourse on Method in 1637 - cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). Despite dire predictions for the future I believe we are on safe ground to conclude that AI, in its present state neither “thinks” nor embodies consciousness. In my view, we should cautiously embrace the technology, mindful of the fact that AI does not possess sentience or “humanity.” Our emotional and creative capabilities, and our unique humanness, distinguish us from AI.
Open AI leader Sam Altman offered a reminder to counter much of the media hysteria: “It’s important to understand that ChatGPT is a tool, not a creature.”
As this project is a leap into imagination, it seemed appropriate to employ AI for both imaging and prompting questions. The images are produced by DALL-E and the questions and poem are created by chatbot ChatGPT. None have been edited and amazingly they are factually correct and cogent.