“Are you for or against AI?”
Though simple, those six words expose the problem we face with our current AI discourse (or almost anything else these days). We’re asked to reduce complex concepts into sound bites and remove all the details that are essential in understanding the issues.
Well, let’s dive right in: ChatGPT (which is based on GPT-3, which is based on GPT-2 and so on) is a chatbot from OpenAI that can interact with users and hold a conversation quite naturally. But what does it really do?
I was recently asked to give a talk on how AI is portrayed in fiction and news media, and as I scanned article after article, one thing became clear: AI algorithms (that is, lines of code) were anthropomorphized to an alarming extent.
Today, I want to talk about Robot and Frank, one of the most realistic movies about AI and robots you’ve never heard of. In this underrated gem, an aging burglar receives a robot butler. What can possibly go wrong?
Imagine you’re at a dinner party and you hear someone approach an author and ask: “So what’s your book about?”
It’s an innocuous enough question. And no, that person is not trying to get the author.
When you’re halfway through a book, have you ever wondered what would be the best ending?
The resolution of the plot? The characters reaching their goals? The characters finding some peace? The antagonist receiving their comeuppance? A positive change in the world?
In this post, I’d like to spotlight Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe, a novel where the AI depiction is particularly insightful.
“Did you really write a novel about a pandemic during a pandemic?”
Though sometimes I’m tempted to shrug or roll my eyes, those are not appropriate responses to that question.
(Trust me on this.)
It took me a while to be able to write about this, but as we’re approaching the initial launch date of Purged Souls, I figured it was time.
