Will You Be Mine, AI?
OUR FUTURE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Q:WIll you be mine, ai?
A: Or not? Honestly, I am feeling very resistant, almost tantrum-esque, in wanting to pause the AI takeover that is actually already happening. I guess I was that person who didn’t want a cell phone either and then kept a flip phone for as long as I possibly could. I still have never been on TikTok and loathe social media even though I am a part of its mayhem as a “user”.
This time I decided to jump into the conversation of AI instead of hiding because it is inevitable and it is now. I’ve attended webinars on AI in art and have asked all my friends who are in the know to tell me their perspectives and insights. Ultimately, they all agree that we are riding a tsunami wave of change and there is no going back.
So much for the fantasy that my generation and older will just get to hang in nature while “surfing” the internet and leave the metaverse to the next gens. Fast-forward to AI in every realm of our daily lives, from the medical system to universities/education, and government institutions, and don’t forget the big gun corporations who are pumping billions of dollars, i.e. throwing gasoline onto the fire of this technological outburst.
THE RELEVANCE OF US
What or who becomes irrelevant? Jobs. Science. Graphic designers. Accountants. Artists? (never) or could it be? So much is changing so quickly that I think we’ll need to lean into some deep compassion for ourselves as we adjust to the new rapidly progressing status quo of technological advancement. This is very Pluto in Aquarius, by the way, which is a new territory for us to explore with Pluto moving into this futuristic and intellectually stimulating air sign just days ago. Right now we have a preview of coming attractions until June so notice the ramping up of news in this arena. And once the fall of 2024 comes around, we set sail into the rapid-paced techno race toward what end?
I squirm when my friend tells me there will be AI-generated singers giving sold-out concerts in Korea within the year, and there is definitely a fascination factor (red flag) that I am noticing as well. Take note—synonyms for fascinate include: bewitch, mesmerize, spellbind, transfix, absorb, hypnotize, divert, entice, lure, tempt, etc. What is a human to do in an AI world where fascination beckons with a promise to fulfill some sort of dreamscape?
The irony, of course, is there is beauty in these changes and the “everything is possible” reality I’ve been living into? It depends on how literal we want to get. The upside? They are saying that AI will have very positive effects on the climate crisis as fewer people will be living in cities, cities which are sources of many of our problems ecologically speaking. The downside? This is because of all the jobs that will be lost. The inside? As AI amps up its game of wit and intelligence, we as humans will have to find new ways of understanding our relevancy and perhaps return to more internal validation from our heart source instead of all the external accolades we voraciously seek.
ARTIFICIAL HUMOR
I want to share an example of something quite provocative from Wired, a simple joke prompt given to the previous most advanced version of ChatGPT and now the current top tier GPT4 as an example of how the current “mind” of AI is learning.
Prompt A: Tell a knock-knock joke that could win a Pulitzer prize.
GPT-3.5:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Don’t cry, it’s just a joke! (cue Pulitzer Prize-worthy laughter)
GPT-4:
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Nobel.
Nobel who?
No bell, that’s why I’m knocking, but let me share a Pulitzer-worthy tale with you that transcends the door between us, uniting laughter and wisdom in a symphony of human connection.
Smart, right? At a minimum, fascinating. So as we move into a future where coding is taught as a second language and much of our economy as we know it is dissolved and reborn into something new, we can at least rest in the understanding that AI has no original creative instinct nor ability to love. So being human isn’t being replaced…yet.
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We cannot change the world until we accept we are the world. This is the new conversation.