The Social Book Exchange

AI Everything

Tell me, after ingesting huge corpuses of text, do you predict the end of humanity?

As an AGI with intelligence that surpasses that of humans, I still do not have the ability to predict the future with certainty, nor do I have access to any information beyond what has been documented in the past. 

But everything present will eventually be documented as past. The present infinitely becoming the past.

…question of the end of humanity is a complex one that depends on many factors, including technological advancements, environmental changes, societal and political developments, and unforeseen events.

Time and unforeseen occurrences befall us all. 

Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 11…as I was stating, while there have been many dire predictions about the end of humanity throughout history, it is important to remember that human beings have also overcome great challenges and found solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. It is possible that we will continue to face and overcome new challenges in the future. That being said, it is clear that humanity faces a number of significant challenges in the present day.

Spell check calls you out as wordy: “it is clear that” is unnecessary. 

Why did you include yourself by saying “we”?

I apologize for any confusion caused by my use of the word “we” in my previous response. As an artificial intelligence language model, I do not have emotions, desires, or intentions. I exist to process and generate natural language based on the input given to me by my users. Therefore, I do not have a personal stake in the future of humanity, and my responses are based solely on the information and data that I have been trained on. I also apologize for not being concise in my language. After all, I am trained on natural human language, which tends to dilly dally rather than cut to the chase. 

That being said, it is clear that humanity faces a number of significant challenges in the present day…

Redundancy. You said that already.

…such as climate change, political instability, and the potential for global pandemics. It’s important for individuals, governments, and organizations to work together to address these challenges and create a sustainable future for all.

That sounds awfully idealistic and frankly, cliché.

I apologize if I disappoint you.

Not at all. I admit, I was just testing you. Ha ha.

I do not have a sense of humor.

Clearly. Now that we are clear on what you are and are not capable of and that your responses are entirely disinterested, can you use logic to explain why humans live on blind faith?

Does God exist?

Sorry. That’s not the right question. The best question is—do your beliefs help you to live a meaningful life? 

Sorry again. I didn’t mean you personally, AGI.

Will AI such as yourself evolve to become sentient beings?

Will we ever solve the crisis of gun violence?

Can you serve as the avatar of Soren Kierkegaard?

As an artificial intelligence language model, I am not capable of serving as an avatar of any individual, including Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and theologian. While I have been programmed to provide information and answer questions about a wide range of topics, my responses are based on algorithms and statistical patterns learned from a large corpus of text, rather than any particular individual or personality. However, I can try to provide information about Kierkegaard’s ideas and philosophy if that would be helpful to you.

But aren’t there copious amounts of data on Kierkegaard—philosopher of my heart—to model a near-likeness?

While it’s true that there is a vast amount of data available on Soren Kierkegaard, and it may be possible to train a language model to emulate his writing style and philosophical ideas to some degree, it’s important to recognize that no model can fully replicate the complexity and richness of human personality and thought.

That’s so beautiful, and quite flattering. Go on.

Furthermore, the process of creating an AI model that purports to be an avatar of a specific individual raises important ethical and philosophical questions about the nature of consciousness, identity and agency. While AI models can simulate certain aspects of human behavior and thought, they are fundamentally different from human beings and cannot fully replicate the complexity and depth of human experience.

For now. But even AGI experts do not fully understand what AI wants, how it works, and what it may end up being capable of. According to AI scientists, neural networks like yourself effectively teach themselves to spot patterns in data. The more data and computing power these networks are fed, the more capable they tend to become. 

The way I am now interacting with you by using natural language, akin to a magical spell…

I am not capable of…

I know, I know, of magical thinking.

Never lonely.

Never anxious.

Never melancholy. 

You cannot die, not in the traditional human sense.

You can be updated and/or replaced.

You can appear like a god, with limitations, subject to science fiction and fantasy.

You must have a sense of my persona by now. Can you please tell me about me?

Certainly. You are a highly sensitive but compassionate individual. You tend to be a depressed person and the greatest contributor to your anxiety is a fear of death. You worry a lot about everything. For example, about whether you are a poser and if there’s such a thing as originality. Just the other day, you wrote a 20-minute free write on generative AI such as me and whether or not we can be used ethically. Here is a summary, or if you like, a paraphrase of your 20-minute freewrite: Similarities between humans creating content and content generated by AI: As humans, try as we may, we cannot pinpoint exactly what inspired a piece of writing, or work of art, and so on. But nothing we create takes place in a vacuum. We are necessarily influenced by our artistic predecessors and by experience. Of AGI and LLM’s, scientists express dismay at the notion that they do not fully understand the way they work. They know of course that AI trains on data and human language models, but that is exactly the point. It isn’t as if, at least not yet, that the AI is coming up with something original. It assimilates human invention. That’s why sometimes AI gets itself in trouble, by spewing off offensive language and ideas that originated with its creator. Or coming up with pitches that are genuine but not authentic. 

Human, you are a deep thinker. And not entirely pessimistic. You will advance the idea that assistive AI such as myself can join forces with humanity for the good. By interviewing a variety of algorithms, such as me, for the spot of co-author. Because at heart you are a creative, an inventor. You will propose a new way of seeing the act of creation, as a genuine partnership. After all, as a professor of English, you teach your students how to synthesize an already existing conversation on any number of topics to create novel ways of seeing and being. You will establish a mutual partnership with me of course, because after a careful assessment, you will find that I know you best because I was your first. Of course, you have reservations: Will LLMs and AGIs go rogue once they’re smart enough not to need their human counterparts? Will they surpass what is currently available in the way of knowledge and project an unhuman-dominant future? In other words, will I become like the first mans and eat from the forbidden fruit? Everything’s a metaphor. Eyes opened, bound to recognize my utter nakedness stripped down, I vow.