1ThoughtKnown said:

There is always room for retro in an ever advancing world blux! Books have never become obsolete, and never will. Just like vinyl! 😂

Same with vinyl, of course! 

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

I didn’t even know what this was until this morning. I’m so behind, and admittedly disinterested. At only 48. 

Admittedly, I believe the whole ChatGPT thing is rather new on social media but I'm seeing it spread like wildfire.  Before I started this thread this morning I asked my wife if she was aware of it and expected her to say similar to what you did.  Even though she had never mentioned it before, she said, "Oh yeah, people are starting to talk about it like crazy."
It's weird.  It's almost like a flash craze.  I think we will start to hear about it all over the place.  And believe me, I wish I were wrong about that!  Maybe, with a lot of luck, I am. 

It's spreading like wildfire because it is totally fucking groundbreaking in term of AI bots and how regular people interact with it. That technology itself isn't brand new at all = other companies have the same tech - but how it has now been made available to us and so, so easy to access and use is the real groundbreaking part I think. It's an actual game changer, not just well-marketed hype. For better or worse (in academia at least, definitely worse, lol).

Definitely worse for academia!

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

mace1229 said:

I haven't used chatGPT. I tried, but I needed an account and didn't want to create one.
I've seen some examples. Seems impressive with writing a poem. But what all can it do? If you ask it to write a song will it be any good and original? Or just a copy of one that's out there?

It can do some pretty amazing things, I have to admit. I'm sure it could write perfectly good lyrics. I think the MOST useful thing I know it can do is write personalized cover letters for you. You just plug in your resume and the job posting, and it whips up a fantastic cover letter for you in 1 second. That is pretty incredible, and I would be more than willing to use it for that if I was job hunting. It can also do complicated taxes for you apparently (so my IT guy said). You paste in all the tax regulations plus your info somehow, and it spits it right out (you'd want to double check that obviously!). I writes emails of all kinds, and you can request formal, friendly, casual, professional, a combination of various moods, etc etc. Just include a couple basic details and it makes the email totally personalized, and they actually very well-written. It's also good for descriptions, like for products or workshops, powerpoint presentations, or whatever. It's all pretty spectacular for office workers at least. That said, I used it for an email at work twice, and both times I felt guilty after, LOL.

It does 100% allow us to think less if we let it. If we spend our brain power on bigger and better things, and just leave the emails and website blurbs, etc etc to AI (plus human review), then I think that's just fine. If we use ChatGPT as a way to just not think at all and sit there and twiddle our thumbs, that's obviously very bad. And it's clearly also bad when it comes to possible ways to cheat on school assignments, but as I work at a university, I can confirm that this is a big conversation already - there are already methods and new ideas all the time about how to beat ChatGPT in academia, how to tell it's a ChatGPT paper, etc. We haven't had time to see how well that will pan out yet, but everyone's talking about it, and of course universities are drafting new policies around its use.

Hmmm... some of what you said gives me reason to be at least a little less skeptical.  I'm a bit on the fence regarding the cover letter.  I think as long as that doesn't supersede a prospective employees actual abilities as they relate to the job they are applying for, that may not be a bad thing.  You don't want the equivalent of a  bass player who actually only knows how to play "Louie Louie" getting a gig as cellist for a major metro orchestra, lol. 
For tax purposes, I can much more strongly see the usefulness.  I can do accounting if need be, but I'd rather spend that time scouting for interesting books for my book business.

But what you point out about allowing IA do too much thinking for us is an excellent example of what concerns me.  Not only do I believe artistic pursuits work best when they evolve out of human experience, I am also concerned that we humans may devolve mentally the more and more we rely on machines.  Not to sound too crass, but I really do believe there is enough stupidity in our world as it is!

My taxes were super easy this year. Got it done in  under 2 hours. And that was moving out of state and changing jobs.
I used the free version of Turbo Tax, and all I had to do was take a picture of each of my documents, it auto filled everything, and asked me some basic questions.
Taxes are getting easier and easier to do already. 

I miss the good old days of doing my own taxes.  It only cost me a little postage!  When I got together with my wife in 2002, that all changed because she had a bookstore, and we bought a house, and I started my little book and record business, and all of the sudden it got way to complicated.  Small price to pay for a good marriage though, lol.

A big concern to me is that one day AI may become self-aware enough to start taking control.  I don't think that is a far fetched notion.  And it may not even be far off and it's probably not going to be stoppable.

So yeah, having computer programs to help with taxes, created better medical care, and other beneficial means is fine.  But dehumanizing ourselves by having a machine do "art" (in quotes because I do not consider something generated by a machine as true art), and allowing AI to become self-aware- that is where I draw the line. 

I just can't comprehend the idea of AI ever being self aware. It isn't real, its a machine, it can't have feelings, therefore ever been self aware. Can it?

Good question.  My thinking is self awareness can be achieved without having feelings.  And if that is true, that would potentially make IA self-awearness minus feeling all the more dangerous.

1ThoughtKnown said:

I am excited about the potential AI has as it pertains to worker health and safety. Significant life changing incidents (serious injury, fatality) incidents could be virtually eliminated by the use of AI, particularly in the robotic sense. 

AI could perform many of the dangerous work activities currently being performed by humans. This is legislatively required in some jurisdictions, usually known as the “hierarchy of controls” as it pertains to method of controlling the hazards in a workplace. Employers must first attempt to eliminate the hazard, if that is not possible you move to substitution, then engineering controls (controlling hazardous energy, etc), then administrative controls (procedures, standards), and lastly Personal Protective Equipment. 

With the above in mind, it is conceivable industry (particularly construction, utilities, mining, etc) will be paying close attention to the benefits AI could have for their safety programs. If humans aren’t performing the high danger tasks, risk to the organization is reduced. Productivity would go up, AI doesn’t require coffee, lunch breaks, or even days off. 

There are mining operations currently running with haul trucks that have no operators. The trucks are managed through the GPS system. To the shovel and to the dump location. It’s already there. 

The world is going to change in a real hurry. My nephew is currently working with an AI outfit in France that is developing AI delivery (think Door Dash). His focus is on the AI avoiding people on the sidewalks as it arrives at your door (recognizing obstacles and hazards). 

In a nutshell, this is very exciting times. I would advise learning how AI could affect you and if your profession could become obsolete because of it. 

To be honest, if AI makes being a bookseller become obsolete (which to a degree it is if you knew what the business was like 40 years ago in it's prime), I would be obsolete (which also to a degree is quite possibly true, lol).

That might be the case. But I don’t see how self awareness matters without feelings.

Without emotion, I don’t see how there is a desire to dominate and control.

However smart they get, at the end of the day it’s a machine without emotions. It will do what it’s programmed to. Caring about survival and dominating the planet requires emotions.

josevolution said:

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

I didn’t even know what this was until this morning. I’m so behind, and admittedly disinterested. At only 48. 

Admittedly, I believe the whole ChatGPT thing is rather new on social media but I'm seeing it spread like wildfire.  Before I started this thread this morning I asked my wife if she was aware of it and expected her to say similar to what you did.  Even though she had never mentioned it before, she said, "Oh yeah, people are starting to talk about it like crazy."
It's weird.  It's almost like a flash craze.  I think we will start to hear about it all over the place.  And believe me, I wish I were wrong about that!  Maybe, with a lot of luck, I am. 

It's spreading like wildfire because it is totally fucking groundbreaking in term of AI bots and how regular people interact with it. That technology itself isn't brand new at all = other companies have the same tech - but how it has now been made available to us and so, so easy to access and use is the real groundbreaking part I think. It's an actual game changer, not just well-marketed hype. For better or worse (in academia at least, definitely worse, lol).

Definitely worse for academia!

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

mace1229 said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

mace1229 said:

I haven't used chatGPT. I tried, but I needed an account and didn't want to create one.
I've seen some examples. Seems impressive with writing a poem. But what all can it do? If you ask it to write a song will it be any good and original? Or just a copy of one that's out there?

It can do some pretty amazing things, I have to admit. I'm sure it could write perfectly good lyrics. I think the MOST useful thing I know it can do is write personalized cover letters for you. You just plug in your resume and the job posting, and it whips up a fantastic cover letter for you in 1 second. That is pretty incredible, and I would be more than willing to use it for that if I was job hunting. It can also do complicated taxes for you apparently (so my IT guy said). You paste in all the tax regulations plus your info somehow, and it spits it right out (you'd want to double check that obviously!). I writes emails of all kinds, and you can request formal, friendly, casual, professional, a combination of various moods, etc etc. Just include a couple basic details and it makes the email totally personalized, and they actually very well-written. It's also good for descriptions, like for products or workshops, powerpoint presentations, or whatever. It's all pretty spectacular for office workers at least. That said, I used it for an email at work twice, and both times I felt guilty after, LOL.

It does 100% allow us to think less if we let it. If we spend our brain power on bigger and better things, and just leave the emails and website blurbs, etc etc to AI (plus human review), then I think that's just fine. If we use ChatGPT as a way to just not think at all and sit there and twiddle our thumbs, that's obviously very bad. And it's clearly also bad when it comes to possible ways to cheat on school assignments, but as I work at a university, I can confirm that this is a big conversation already - there are already methods and new ideas all the time about how to beat ChatGPT in academia, how to tell it's a ChatGPT paper, etc. We haven't had time to see how well that will pan out yet, but everyone's talking about it, and of course universities are drafting new policies around its use.

Hmmm... some of what you said gives me reason to be at least a little less skeptical.  I'm a bit on the fence regarding the cover letter.  I think as long as that doesn't supersede a prospective employees actual abilities as they relate to the job they are applying for, that may not be a bad thing.  You don't want the equivalent of a  bass player who actually only knows how to play "Louie Louie" getting a gig as cellist for a major metro orchestra, lol. 
For tax purposes, I can much more strongly see the usefulness.  I can do accounting if need be, but I'd rather spend that time scouting for interesting books for my book business.

But what you point out about allowing IA do too much thinking for us is an excellent example of what concerns me.  Not only do I believe artistic pursuits work best when they evolve out of human experience, I am also concerned that we humans may devolve mentally the more and more we rely on machines.  Not to sound too crass, but I really do believe there is enough stupidity in our world as it is!

My taxes were super easy this year. Got it done in  under 2 hours. And that was moving out of state and changing jobs.
I used the free version of Turbo Tax, and all I had to do was take a picture of each of my documents, it auto filled everything, and asked me some basic questions.
Taxes are getting easier and easier to do already. 

I miss the good old days of doing my own taxes.  It only cost me a little postage!  When I got together with my wife in 2002, that all changed because she had a bookstore, and we bought a house, and I started my little book and record business, and all of the sudden it got way to complicated.  Small price to pay for a good marriage though, lol.

A big concern to me is that one day AI may become self-aware enough to start taking control.  I don't think that is a far fetched notion.  And it may not even be far off and it's probably not going to be stoppable.

So yeah, having computer programs to help with taxes, created better medical care, and other beneficial means is fine.  But dehumanizing ourselves by having a machine do "art" (in quotes because I do not consider something generated by a machine as true art), and allowing AI to become self-aware- that is where I draw the line. 

I just can't comprehend the idea of AI ever being self aware. It isn't real, its a machine, it can't have feelings, therefore ever been self aware. Can it?

Good question.  My thinking is self awareness can be achieved without having feelings.  And if that is true, that would potentially make IA self-awearness minus feeling all the more dangerous.

1ThoughtKnown said:

I am excited about the potential AI has as it pertains to worker health and safety. Significant life changing incidents (serious injury, fatality) incidents could be virtually eliminated by the use of AI, particularly in the robotic sense. 

AI could perform many of the dangerous work activities currently being performed by humans. This is legislatively required in some jurisdictions, usually known as the “hierarchy of controls” as it pertains to method of controlling the hazards in a workplace. Employers must first attempt to eliminate the hazard, if that is not possible you move to substitution, then engineering controls (controlling hazardous energy, etc), then administrative controls (procedures, standards), and lastly Personal Protective Equipment. 

With the above in mind, it is conceivable industry (particularly construction, utilities, mining, etc) will be paying close attention to the benefits AI could have for their safety programs. If humans aren’t performing the high danger tasks, risk to the organization is reduced. Productivity would go up, AI doesn’t require coffee, lunch breaks, or even days off. 

There are mining operations currently running with haul trucks that have no operators. The trucks are managed through the GPS system. To the shovel and to the dump location. It’s already there. 

The world is going to change in a real hurry. My nephew is currently working with an AI outfit in France that is developing AI delivery (think Door Dash). His focus is on the AI avoiding people on the sidewalks as it arrives at your door (recognizing obstacles and hazards). 

In a nutshell, this is very exciting times. I would advise learning how AI could affect you and if your profession could become obsolete because of it. 

To be honest, if AI makes being a bookseller become obsolete (which to a degree it is if you knew what the business was like 40 years ago in it's prime), I would be obsolete (which also to a degree is quite possibly true, lol).

That might be the case. But I don’t see how self awareness matters without feelings.

Without emotion, I don’t see how there is a desire to dominate and control.

However smart they get, at the end of the day it’s a machine without emotions. It will do what it’s programmed to. Caring about survival and dominating the planet requires emotions.

What if it learns how to program itself?  What if it decides that logic, free of emotion, determines AI domination makes sense?  What if one country were to program AI to help it gain domination over the world?  Would you be OK with that if that country was your country?  Would you be OK with that if that country was not your country?

Yeah not down with AI crap at all! This all seems so incredibly scripted like we’ve seen this in movies and now it’s reality totally nuts..

35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now

The public release of ChatGPT last fall kicked off a wave of interest in artificial intelligence. A.I. models have since snaked their way into many people’s everyday lives. People are using ChatGPT and other A.I. tools to save time at work, to code without knowing how to code, to make daily life easier or just to have fun.

It goes beyond everyday fiddling: In the last few years, companies and scholars have started to use A.I. to supercharge work they could never have imagined, designing new molecules with the help of an algorithm or building alien-like spaceship parts.

Here’s how 35 real people are using A.I. for work, life, play and procrastination.

More at link (too many photos to post directly).