Chat box technology both intriguing and scary

All the chatter these days about artificial intelligence (AI) is enough to make my head spin, if not that of an entire generation of Boomers who rather like the idea of talking to another human being, face to face when possible.
Technology is rapidly influencing so many of the tasks we perform each day, but for crying out loud having a one-on-one conversation shouldn’t be on that list. If that makes me old school, then I’m guilty as charged.
I was lamenting the latest wave of AI collateral damage last week when the truth emerged about news reports featuring photos that looked authentic, but in fact were bogus. As if it isn’t hard enough already to watch the nightly news and decipher fact from spin, now we have to wonder if those pictures of Pope Francis wearing a puffer jacket or Donald Trump scrapping with police while being arrested in NYC are legit. Turns out both were the result of image generation software, but of course they went viral on social media before being dubbed as fakes. It’s not hard to guess how fuzzy that news/BS line will become, especially headed into a presidential election year. Ugh!
I’m as guilty as anyone of asking Siri to answer a quick question or send a text message while I’m driving, but the growing reliance on technology to do things we’ve always done for ourselves does make me pause. There is a danger that the sharper we become at using technology the weaker our critical thinking skills become. That, over time, could cause far more harm than good.
Overall, the pros and cons of artificial anything are complex and it’s important to carefully consider the potential benefits and risks before implementing AI in any context. It’s also important, though virtually impossible to monitor or enforce, that AI be designed and used ethically and responsibly, with a focus on maximizing its benefits while minimizing potential drawbacks. The one question AI cannot answer is who qualifies to wear that police badge?
Which brings me to ChatGPT, an AI chatbox which hit 100 million users in only two months, making it the fastest-growing consumer app in history. You can ask ChatGPT (which stands for Chat Generation Pre-trained Transformer) anything, and get “human-like and frequently accurate responses to a vast range of questions.”
I’d never heard of this gig until recently, so decided to log in and strike up a convo.
It only took my Boomer brain one “chat” to conclude that when James Taylor wrote the lyrics to “You’ve Got a Friend” back in the day, you can be dang sure he wasn’t talking about lending your ear to an app with an algorithm.
Was our little “chat” intriguing? Yes. Insightful? Perhaps, but in a clinical, algorithm sort of way. Funny? Not. Potential bff connection? Never. A scary sign of what path this trend is taking us down? Ab-so-fricking-lutely!
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net