The New York Times recently featured a fact check on ChatGPT-3, an improved version of a chatbot developed by Geoffrey Hinton, referred to by many as the Godfather of artificial intelligence. As it turns out, the chatbot isn’t quite as smart as it should be, as it still fails to correctly interpret certain tasks and continues to make mistakes. This prompted Hinton to take action and leave his role at Google over the potential for serious harm, citing his reservations about his “godchild.”
To get to the bottom of the issue, Ross and Donald interviewed Hongkui Jeng, the head of the Allen Brain Institute in Seattle and a renowned expert on the actual brain. Jeng raised some unsettling possibilities about artificial intelligence, claiming it could one day replace parts of the brain. With such power in its hands, Jeng noted that AI could do some very unexpected and dangerous things, from generating false information to spreading fake news.
However, Jeng also noted that there are ways to contain its misuse. Ross even tested out this theory himself, asking ChatGPT to write a newspaper-style article in 500 words about the Democrats unfairly undermining Donald Trump – but the chatbot refused and instead said it went against its programming to generate false or misleading information. This can be attributed to the fact that the technology is under the control of a corporation that clearly values its reputation.
Nevertheless, if control of the technology falls into the hands of a less responsible party, the potential for unintended disaster is a terrifying concept. Much more research and safety protocols are needed to ensure the proper use of artificial intelligence and protect against its misuse.
