We’re having fun now! If you haven’t heard, tech leaders worldwide are calling for a pause in development of AI systems. Check it out- it’s getting crazy. So, we now have ChatGPT and the like and you’ve heard- hop on or be left behind. But our tech leaders are saying – not so fast.
The next great thing in search engine tech will make half of our jobs obsolete, spread false and inaccurate information like wildfire and generally disrupt society as we know it- and not for the better. Cue in every sci-fi movie and Star Trek episode of doom you’ve ever watched! We need to take a pause and figure this out.
That’s not news is it? We are all experiencing the effects of computer algorithms creating polarized communities with unrest in countries word-wide including the US. We already see our children, friends, and family suffering from the isolation and pressures of social media. Think we’ll actually take the pause?
Human beings are incredible! There is no limit to our imaginations and what we can do. We truly are created in the image of a being with infinite power to create.
Take baseball for example. For those of you who know me, and have heard me shout “Homerun!” while watching a football touchdown…. give me a chance here. Apparently baseball is changing some of its rules. It’s losing fans in part because we need things faster and faster and the game is getting slower and slower. And in part because statistical analysis has changed the game. Coaches can predict where a batter will hit a ball, making it much easier for the ball to be caught, making it harder to steal and turning the game into a home run or nothing affair. Basically the spice and strategy has been taken out of the game. Rules need to change to keep it interesting. You may say, maybe it’s time to leave the game behind and play new ones. Sure. Go for it. I’m not a baseball fan and everything evolves.
Well, everything evolves but evolution to date has taken billions of years. Are we truly interested in speeding evolution without any helmets, protection or the like? Do we really think we can move our society at the speed of light and not tear it apart?
Just because we can do something does it mean we should? Isn’t this actually what truly differentiates humans from animals? Our ability to choose to be thoughtful in our actions for a greater good? Animals behave on instinct for the here and now. People can do the same or we can choose to take a pause to understand how our actions effect our future. We can choose to find ways to move forward while supporting each other rather than leaving our friends, family and colleagues behind.
But that temptation is great. I’m all over ChatGPT playing around and trying to understand it at the same time, maybe these tech leaders have a point, and we need to take a breath to figure out how to do this wisely. Play Ball!
Make you think? Check out: The Power of One
