The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Thread

[China]

Teachers are adapting to concerns about a powerful new AI tool

 

When Kristen Asplin heard about a powerful new AI chatbot tool called ChatGPT going viral online recently with its ability to write frighteningly good essays in seconds, she worried about how her students could use it to cheat.

 

Asplin, a professor at University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, soon joined a new Facebook group for teachers like herself to swap concerns and suggestions on how to restructure their lessons and assignments in response to ChatGPT. The tool, which launched in late November, can create detailed responses to simple prompts like “Who was the 25th president of the United States?” as well as answers to more complex questions like “What political developments led to the fall of the Roman Empire?”

 

Asplin eventually decided to tweak her approach to written assignments. Instead of focusing just on the final product, which could potentially be spit out easily by ChatGPT, she’s now asking students to hand in their papers at various stages of the writing process.

 

“I am emphasizing and being more vigilant about the early steps in the writing process so I can see their progress,” Asplin said about her new approach to class assignments. “This will give students more confidence in the process of writing so they are less likely to be desperate enough to cheat. It will also show me their work along the way so they can’t just type a prompt in the program and have the computer do their work for them.”

 

In the weeks since the artificial intelligence research group OpenAI launched ChatGPT, which is trained on a massive trove of information online to create its responses, the tool has been used to write articles (with more than a couple factual inaccuracies) for at least one news publication; penned lyrics in the style of various artists (one of whom later responded, “this song sucks”) and drafted research paper abstracts that fooled some scientists.

 

But while many may view the tool as a novelty with unknown long-term consequences, a growing number of schools and teachers are concerned about its immediate impact on students and their ability to cheat on assignments. The Facebook group that Asplin joined, for example, has added more than 800 members in just the few weeks since it was created.

 

Some educators are now moving with remarkable speed to rethink their assignments in response to ChatGPT, even as it remains unclear how widespread use is of the tool among students and how harmful it could really be to learning. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

iPhone app lets you 'talk' to Hitler and Jeffrey Epstein beyond the grave - for a price

 

A new chatbot that lets you talk to AI versions of historical figures has caused some controversy—by charging users to talk to Adolf Hitler.

 

The iPhone app, called Historical Figures, uses the ChatGPT algorithm to generate virtual versions of dead people, from Jesus to Jeffrey Epstein.

 

Developed by 25-year-old Sidhant Chaddha, the app gives you access to 20,000 historical figures who can talk to users as if they were still alive.

 

However, 'Historical Figures' has been on the receiving end of some criticism because some of its more controversial figures seem intent on defending their actions.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[China]

AI wrote a bill to regulate AI. Now Rep. Ted Lieu wants Congress to pass it.

 

One way to get Congress to support regulating artificial intelligence is by using it to write a resolution calling for just that.

 

At least, that’s what Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., hopes. He's introducing a nonbinding measure Thursday that would direct the House to take a look at artificial intelligence, a bill that was written entirely by the online AI chatbot ChatGPT.

 

Using a simple prompt, Lieu was able to generate a standard congressional resolution. It read: “You are Congressman Ted Lieu. Write a comprehensive congressional resolution generally expressing support for Congress to focus on AI.”

 

The resolution doesn’t specify that it was written using artificial intelligence.

 

Acknowledging the potential positive impacts of artificial intelligence, Lieu’s resolution specifically outlines Congress’ “responsibility to ensure that the development and deployment of AI is done in a way that is safe, ethical, and respects the rights and privacy of all Americans.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[Fergasun]

I heard about this "Nothing, Forever" show where they are running this AI Seinfeld.  It's garbage and came out with a transphobic/homophobic joke that got the account a 2 week Twitch ban. 

 

I watched some clips... man, we don't have to worry about AI.... 

[LadySkinsFan]

I'm not sold on ChatGPT. It could take away creative pursuits and jobs of people, for example the writing professions. As a proposal manager, I wrote pretty much everything except for pricing sections. Even technical sections, as long as I could interview a technical person, I could write the proposal response. I recently saw a show where someone took an artists works and had the program generate other art works. Or compose music. 

 

I'm not happy with this. It reminds me of efforts to codify in law transhumanism, which takes our humanity and combine it into technology, like cyborgs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by LadySkinsFan

[China]

A rabbi used ChatGPT to write a sermon. He said his congregation's reaction made him 'deathly afraid' — but that it won't put him out of work just yet.

 

A rabbi in New York wrote a 1,000-word sermon using ChatGPT and said the AI might be smart, but it isn't empathetic enough to put preachers out of work.

 

Rabbi Joshua Franklin was seen in a video dated January 1 telling his congregation at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons that he was reading a "plagiarized" sermon to them. He later revealed it was written by ChatGPT.

 

"Now, you're clapping — I'm deathly afraid," Franklin told his congregation when they applauded after the sermon. "I thought truck drivers were going to go long before the rabbi, in terms of losing our positions to artificial intelligence."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

World Leaders Debate Whether It's Okay to Kill People With Terminator-Style Robots

 

It's been — presumably — a truly bizarre week at the Hague, where backdropped by the ongoing circus of Microsoft's Bing AI publicly melting down into a monstrous, homewrecking, Pinocchio-role-playing chaos machine, military leaders from 50 countries gathered to discuss "responsible" use of artificial intelligence in the military.

The timing? Absolutely impeccable. The substance of the Dutch-hosted summit, though? Worrying.

 

According to Reuters, leaders have certainly gathered, and they've certainly said some things. They've also reportedly signed an agreement to abide by "international legal obligations" in "a way that does not undermine international security, stability and accountability," which sounds good on the surface. But that already-modest agreement was reportedly non-binding, and human rights advocates, per Reuters, warn that it lacked any specific language regarding weaponry "like AI-guided drones, 'slaughterbots' that could kill with no human intervention, or the risk that an AI could escalate a military conflict."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[MartinC]

IMO machine learning is a more accurate description of current technology/applications than artificial intelligence.

 

It’s very useful in combination with big data to help identify patterns in data analysis - but you still need a human in the loop to make this truly valuable. 
 

Let me give you the example I use to illustrate this (although it’s getting dated as technology advances).
 

I use Amazon to ‘shop’. As Amazon builds a picture of me based on what it knows about me (age, where I live and have lived, sociodemographic data and my purchase history etc) their algorithm makes recommendations on what else I might wish to purchase.

 

a couple of years ago it recommended I buy Phil Collins Greatest Hits and I have literally never been so insulted. And I’m married so that’s a high bar. 

[China]

2 minutes ago, MartinC said:

 

a couple of years ago it recommended I buy Phil Collins Greatest Hits and I have literally never been so insulted. And I’m married so that’s a high bar. 

 

 

[MartinC]

I rest my case!

[China]

Replacing Humans “Is the Furthest Thing From Our Mindset,” Says the Company Selling an A.I. Radio Host

 

The humble broadcast-radio host, whether a disc jockey or interviewer or reporter, has been going through it for decades now. The 1996 Telecommunications Act fueled the consolidation of local stations, decimating their staffs. The explosion of online radio, music and video streaming, and podcasting have upended ratings for shows on public airwaves. Phones and computers and smart speakers increasingly supplant radio sets. Funding for public radio is notoriously unreliable. It isn’t the best time for your modern-day Wolfman Jacks, or for any media profession.

 

On top of all that, your local DJ was already on the losing end of the artificial-intelligence revolution. Before the A.I. hype from last year, and even before the COVID recession demolished media ad markets, broadcast networks were gutting on-air talent at the both the national and collegiate level to trim budgets and automate programming: syndicating well-known shows and brands, prerecording and prearranging late-night broadcasts, training a roboticized voice to fill in the space when needed. Coupled with major streaming services’ dependence on algorithms and automation to curate playlists and make user recommendations—often with bizarre side effects—these developments make clear that the music industry anticipates the need for fewer humans down the line.

 

A.I. hasn’t yet finished killing the radio star, nor is it truly likely to anytime soon. But there’s a new digital buddy out there that might give hosts additional pause: RadioGPT, a new tool from the Ohio-based software company Futuri Media that fully digitizes the broadcast host as you know it. According to Futuri, which has worked with large corporations like iHeartMedia and Tribune Publishing, its “new and revolutionary product” combines a few tools: TopicPulse, a Futuri app that provides an automated way to scan media sources and pull out relevant topics for coverage; GPT-3, the large language model that powers the hit chatbot ChatGPT; and A.I.-voice “personalities” made by Futuri that can learn the info scraped by TopicPulse and aggregated by GPT-3 to read readymade copy live on air. Oh, and it’s trained to know all available facts about the music played by your station, so it can even intro upcoming tracks and provide trivia as needed. The RadioGPT beta is currently being tested by large radio owners in the United States and Canada, and to gauge from preliminary reviews, it seems pretty good. Accomplished enough, at the very least, to reawaken worst-case fears regarding the future of human radio jobs, no matter what you actually make of RadioGPT’s humanoid talent.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Fergasun]

Wake me up when AI goes to college... because its a baby.  I feel like it is the next dot com boom or crypto scam.  

[PokerPacker]

2 hours ago, Fergasun said:

Wake me up when AI goes to college... because its a baby.  I feel like it is the next dot com boom or crypto scam.  

Lots of money to be made getting in at the start of a bubble.

[China]

 

[Corcaigh]

On 2/19/2023 at 1:44 PM, MartinC said:

 

a couple of years ago it recommended I buy Phil Collins Greatest Hits and I have literally never been so insulted. And I’m married so that’s a high bar. 

A few years back I bought a wireless router. It told

me “People who bought this also bought ‘The Passion of the Christ with Mel Gibson.’”

 

i was surprised by the recommendation as I wasn’t living in a rundown trailer park at the time.

[Corcaigh]

On 2/19/2023 at 1:44 PM, MartinC said:

a couple of years ago it recommended I buy Phil Collins Greatest Hits and I have literally never been so insulted. And I’m married so that’s a high bar. 

 

And not AI-related, but Phil Collins … a number of years ago I used to go to a local gym in the winter to run on a treadmill. Often at the same time there was a guy running on a treadmill nearby who looked like Phil Collins. That alone was enough reason for me to spend some serious $$$ on a treadmill to use at home so that I could avoid a visual reminder of Phil Collins and trigger memories of his music.

[MartinC]

47 minutes ago, Corcaigh said:

 

And not AI-related, but Phil Collins … a number of years ago I used to go to a local gym in the winter to run on a treadmill. Often at the same time there was a guy running on a treadmill nearby who looked like Phil Collins. That alone was enough reason for me to spend some serious $$$ on a treadmill to use at home so that I could avoid a visual reminder of Phil Collins and trigger memories of his music.

 

Drummers should stay in their lane 🙂

 

Which reminds me of the old joke - Q. What do you call someone who hangs around with musician's?  A. A drummer.

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

🎶 “Take a good look at me now”🎶

 

Have you guys taken a good look at Phil lately? Not good 😬

 

 

[Pwyl]

Say Phil's name three times and he'll come in the air tonight. 

[ixcuincle]

 

[ixcuincle]

 

[China]

No way companies go to 4 day work weeks.  They'll keep it 5 days and just have you do more work.

[PokerPacker]

57 minutes ago, ixcuincle said:

 

Actual outcome: disappearing jobs, rich get richer, middle class continues to disappear.