ChatGPT is a new AI system that sounds so human in conversations that it could host its own radio programs. Reading between its instantly generated, perfectly grammatical lines, people see different visions of the future. Without doubt, ChatGPT is impressive.
Some compare the emergence of ChatGPT to the impact of the iPhone, but that doesn’t do it justice. ChatGPT, as well as the generative AI that will follow and outsmart it, is more disruptive. And yet, that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world is upon us. On the contrary, ChatGPT, I would argue, might serve to make us more aware of our irreplaceable human qualities.
Take the creative act, writing in particular, as an example. If you want it to, the AI-powered chatbot always produces something because it has the whole world of online data to draw from. But unlike us, it lacks the consciousness. Thinking is hard, critical thinking even harder, and ChatGPT isn’t good at either. It just restates what has already been said; it is one big recycling machine.
There is another obvious limitation of ChatGPT. Philosopher Harry Frankfurt once claimed: the difference between a bullshitter (胡说八道的人) and a liar is that the liar knows what the truth is but decides to take the opposite direction; a bullshitter, however, has no regard for the truth at all. The AI scholar Gary Marcus applies this distinction to ChatGPT. He believes that we have reached a critical point when “the price of bullshit reaches zero and people who want to spread misinformation, either politically or just to make a profit, start doing that plentifully”. Unfortunately, ChatGPT will reproduce misinformation from any of its input sources — it is not an intelligent system that tries to balance or weight different perspectives. In this sense, everything that ChatGPT writes is bullshit.
This is why the so-called AIQ is critical. It is actually an extension and a measurement of our human IQ: our overall knowledge of AI tools, our mastery of clues, and our ethical awareness. ChatGPT is going to change everything and nothing. Creativity, imagination and ethics — these will all remain unique human domains. It is the AI’s very limitations that will make us appreciate our own.
【小题1】What can we learn about ChatGPT?A.It helps generate an artificial voice. |
B.It provides instructions on writing skills. |
C.It generates natural language responses. |
D.It offers a service for language learning. |
A.Evil. | B.Comparable. | C.Profitable. | D.Revolutionary. |
A.It makes up lies constantly. |
B.It can’t tell right from wrong. |
C.It often makes unfair judgement. |
D.It always takes a neutral standpoint. |
A.ChatGPT Makes Us Human |
B.ChatGPT Is Causing Panic Now |
C.ChatGPT: Treat It Like a Toy, Not a Tool |
D.ChatGPT: Why It Is Bound to Generate Bullshit |