Two or Three

I've played around with that free AI chatgpt program.  It's a truly bad writer. 

Talented junior high, regardless of style.  Rewrite the following as a ten-year-old...  And the sentences are simple and full of "like" and "sort of" and "you know".  Write it in the style of Bukowski: "the goddam x was too goddam y, and the goddam v wasn't even a furking w..."  Artless.  Write a poem in the style of so and so -- and it's a rhyme.  Rewrite it so it doesn't rhyme -- and it rhymes.  

Many errors of fact -- I ask honing questions and it ends up having to confess that Diodorus Siculus did not actually write about human sacrifice in ancient Egypt. "I'm sorry.  I misunderstood your question." Do not apologize when responding. "Thank you. I will not apologize when I respond."  But it does.  And always, always, the inevitable "It is important to realize that all cultures and points of view are valuable etc."  We mustn't offend the ancient Egyptians.  

So it's good at suggesting but not authenticating possible sources of research.  It's good at artless organization, collating clauses and switching out words for synonyms, ranked no doubt on an ngramic usage scale.  There is a sort of intelligence, the way bees build hexagons.  We must not confuse Artificial Intelligence with Life.  

I see fantastic possibilities -- supercomputing the way to optimal efficiencies.  Reconstructing shattered ancient stele, in moments rather than years.  Simulating wind tunnel trials for optimal propeller shape.  Optimizing the gerrymandering of Congressional districts.

From my level of exposure, I'd suppose real writers shouldn't be worried.  I mean, where excellence is recognized and required.  AI will generate an absolute glut of formulaic comedy and drama, action adventure, bang bang kiss kiss, movies and series.  "I put my dick in a booger pie!"  "Mendoza -- I'll KIIIILLLLLL you!!!"  But that's what we have now.  The people who write this crap deserve to be replaced.  Likewise, the people who watch it.  

The Turing Test, where you ask, question, and just cannot tell if the other is a person or a program, is fine.  It's like not knowing your spouse is cheating on you -- she seems real.  But lots of us can tell, and don't want to know, confront, change, risk, loss.  AI would be the cheating spouse who gets away with it.  america loves cheaters, because america loves winning.  Steroids and Affirmative Action.  Anything to overcome.  

At the hack level, we see it already -- clickbait about celebrities or diets etc.  Just truly bad.  My son uses AI to summarize the info presented at conferences re his business.  I generally edit some of his posts, and the first time I got one from the AI I was astounded at how bad it was.  I hadn't been forewarned.  I was about half through when I deduced from the badness that it must be AI.  After that it was flat-out rewriting.  Good at summarizing, but not good at writing summaries. 

My son uses VAs in his biz, virtual assistants -- in his case, people in the Philippines who do graphics and programing etc, conferencing via internet.  More cost effective, and just as high quality, like Walmart call-centers based in India.  And I was wondering if AI would replace them.  So I texted:

"Will AI replace your VAs?  'Our Pledge: No job will be lost to AI'."

His response: "No, I wouldn't get rid of them.  My VAs use AI, but they do so much and are integral.  Plus we support their livelihood in a lot of ways.  M is full time and I make sure to take care of him.  Bonuses or extra money for expenses when a storm blows apart his roof.  Or has a baby etc.  Raises every six months or so.  We've got his back and he knows it."

Well.  My heart swelled.  "Not only do I love you, but you deserve to be loved."  

To which he responded with one of those liking hearts that get tagged somehow to a text, and "I learned real loyalty from you.  :)  I'd never betray trust."

"One of my several few real virtues.  I was just now thinking that you are the man I wanted my little boy to grow into.  But enough of this."

"Thanks dad."

Artificial, authentic, author, artifice.  Arbitrary, chosen, meaningful, defined.  We are all Turing Tests.  Am I real.  Virtue, virtual.  

I asked myself, questioned, just what are my several few virtues.  Two, easy and instant: Be loyal. Tell the truth.  And I asked, any more?  Don't give up.  

That last one is the hardest.  

J