I’m fed up with narrative that current “Artificial Intelligence” development is going to be all things to all people or a major AI breakthrough will be just around the corner, again. Its seems just about every software developer has an upgrade coming out that promises AI, even if the product does not require it.
I started off, like most people, taking a look at ChatGPT and thinking “That’s pretty neat!”, however as time progressed and the hype train left the station, I have grown more and more alarmed about the unscrupulous ethics of the evolving industry and that average users are being sold a lie based on vague promises by those with vested interests in profiting from this new development.
Much has been already written on why generative AI is not the silver bullet it’s been made out to be, and I encourage people to read Ed Zitron’s articles on this (his whole blog is great):
The AI slop has been particularly jarring in the last 18 months. It’s been on of the reasons I have chosen to pay for searching the internet and have made a greater effort to embrace the IndieWeb through independent federated social media.
Should you be alarmed about Generative AI? Maybe. If you’re reading this chances are you are already familiar with the issues:
- The copyright issues GenAI create is perhaps one of the biggest thefts in history as LLMs unscrupulously scrape the internet for any and all text for use in it’s models with no renumeration, while charging end users for being able to use their product.
- It’s truly horrifying to watch society’s critical thinking capability decline in the face of being able to ask LLMs a question and accepting their answer at face value. There are plenty of examples of GenAI making stuff up, sometimes with devastating real world consequences.
- While everyone seems to care less about the environment these days, with data centres set to consume twice as much energy by 2030, I find it unfathomable that we as a society still value profit at all costs. Money means nothing with no water to drink or food to eat due to climate change.
- I am alarmed at people who use GenAI products without understanding how it works and putting sensitive information at risk. I have heard of medical staff using ChatGPT to summarise patient notes and all too often theres always that meeting where someone invites an “AI Meeting App” to listen to the meeting and taken notes to email around.
And yet the hype train speeds on, and the average user laps it right up.
I may be just a single voice screaming into the void of the Internet and the ship has well and truly sailed, but I implore of everyone to take any news about what we are currently calling “Artificial Intelligence” with a healthy dose of scepticism, as the only thing artificial here is the reality that is being reported.