![]() ![]() The relationship between language and thought is extraordinarily complicated. On the contrary, it is quite possible that the ideas that are expressed in the most confusing fashion are the ones that were thought out most clearly.” In his 1805 essay “ On the gradual formation of thoughts in the process of speech” (first published posthumously in 1878), the German poet Heinrich von Kleist inverts the common wisdom that one should not open one’s mouth to speak unless one has a clear idea of what to say: “If therefore a thought is expressed in a fuzzy way, then it does not at all follow that this thought was conceived in a confused way. Although it designates something that most people enjoy doing (copulation), it also often acquires a negative valence (“We’re fucked!” “Go fuck yourself!”). It is an expression of cynicism that will be appreciated as comic honesty, all to boost sales. The classic “buy one, get one” special is reformulated to cancel itself out. Perhaps this is just a sign that these systems are very good indeed at aping human consciousness, all the way down to the horror that lurks in the depths of existence: our fears of filth, death, and corruption.”īut just how good are the new AIs at approximating human consciousness? Consider the bar that recently advertised a drink special with the following terms: “Buy one beer for the price of two and receive a second beer absolutely free!” To any human, this is obviously a joke. ![]() “In their attempt to understand and replicate the entirety of human visual culture,” Bridle observes, “ seem to have recreated our darkest fears as well. As the artist and writer James Bridle warns, the new AIs are “based on the wholesale appropriation of existing culture,” and the belief that they are “actually knowledgeable or meaningful is actively dangerous.” Hence, we should also be very wary of the new AI image generators. Will political positions that some cohorts deem “offensive” be prohibited? What about expressions of solidarity with West Bank Palestinians, or the claim that Israel is an apartheid state (which former US President Jimmy Carter once put into the title of a book)? Will these be blocked as “anti-Semitic”? If we decide that some kind of regulation is in order, we must then determine how far the censorship should go. Should AIs be programmed to answer at the same level as the questions that are being posed? But an issue that warrants closer attention is how chatbots should respond when human interlocutors use aggressive, sexist, or racist remarks to prompt the bot to present its own foul-mouthed fantasies in return. Much has been said about chatbots auguring the end of the traditional student essay. But the capacity of such chatbots has been dramatically augmented in recent months, leading to handwringing and panic in many circles. JUBLJANA – There is nothing new about “chatbots” that are capable of maintaining a conversation in natural language, understanding a user’s basic intent, and offering responses based on preset rules and data. Worse, by relying on them, we risk succumbing to the same obtuseness. The problem with the new chatbots is not just that they are often stupid and naive it is that they are not “stupid” or “naive” enough to pick up on the nuances, ironies, and revealing contradictions that constitute human culture and communication. Support our newsroom by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION HERE Trustworthy and indepth news stories are more important now than ever. ![]()
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