ChatGPT and other AI developments are now raising concerns in some quarters. But should we fear AI?
The video in which I say more about AI and employment is this ExplainingTheFuture presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaGIo_Viazs
A free sampler of my book "Digital Genesis" can be downloaded from this page:
https://www.explainingcomputers.com/genesis.html
And if you like this video, you may also be interested in my episodes on:
Brain-Computer Interfaces:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMxJYhUg0pc
Cyborg Fusion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2C2NgOhUwg
REFERENCES
The Open letter to pause Giant AI experiments:
https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/
Claude Shannon (1950) 'Programming a Computer to Play Chess'. Available from:
https://vision.unipv.it/IA1/ProgrammingaComputerforPlayingChess.pdf
IBM AI Solutions:
https://www.ibm.com/artificial-intelligence
Machine Learning on AWS (Amazon cloud AI):
https://aws.amazon.com/machine-learning/
Google cloud AI:
https://cloud.google.com/products/ai
Azure Cognitive Serices (Microsoft cloud AI):
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/products/cognitive-services/
Introducing ChatGTP:
https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt
Inveniam on AI reducing telco infrastructure costs:
https://www.inveniam.fr/en/blog/cost-savings
AI & Smarter supply chains (IBM):
https://www.ibm.com/supply-chain
ENTO AI reducing energy costs:
https://www.ento.ai/product/energy-optimisation-with-ai
Azure AI in healthcare:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/solutions/industries/healthcare/
Pfizer speeding drug development with AI:
https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/artificial_intelligence_on_a_mission_to_make_clinical_drug_development_faster_and_smarter
Absci AI drug creation:
https://www.absci.com/absci-achieves-a-breakthrough-in-ai-drug-creation-2/
For additional ExplainingComputers videos and other content, you can become a channel member here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbiGcwDWZjz05njNPrJU7jA/join
More videos on computing and related topics can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/@explainingcomputers
You may also like my ExplainingTheFuture channel at: http://www.youtube.com/@explainingthefuture
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:57 The ChatGPT Wake-Up Call
03:56 Is this a risk?
06:44 Our best hope?
09:14 AI & the Future
#AI #ChatGPT #explainingcomputers
It's 2025 now and it's only getting worse with the way it's utilized
@dee23gaming Says:
AI is just too good at what it does. For example, I have used AI to provide code snippets for my website ideas, and what I've ended up with, was something that would've been done by a team of hired freelancers many years ago. People could've been paid, but instead, I did all this work myself, for free, in less time. I'm not complaining about me saving myself some money, but I can't help but think about the people that could've been paid for this work. This is my problem with AI. It devalues most computer jobs to a point where it's crashing the job market. I don't have a problem with AI itself, but it does not belong in our capitalistic society. It's ruining everyone's chances at a career (especially young adults), which is what puts food on the table, and a roof over their heads. Without a career, we are completely, and utterly lost. Career fields which aren't going to be taken over by AI anytime soon (skilled blue collar work), will become supersaturated, and it will just make things even worse.
@maxlagomorph Says:
Yo this ain’t a breakdown of how F.E.A.R ai works, tf is this?
@romstk7411 Says:
He who is afraid of AI is no different than he who is afraid about calculator. hi
@Kounomura Says:
Should we fear nuclear power? Only when it gets into people's hands. The answer is the same for all epoch-making inventions. Because these find their most important field of application primarily in the manufacture of weapons. The civil applications are always only ancillary, contingent, incidental, small raisins
@martinsmith5028 Says:
Hi Chris. I noticed that this year's Christmas Royal Institute lectures on TV are about AI. Obviously jumping on the current bandwagon but I think I will watch them
@raruteam Says:
I would like to add as an artists, nowadays there is an ongoing battle between artists and companies like stability A.I and Midjourney, they stole billions of images for profit and I hate the phrase "A.I just learned to do art the same way you do, so it's not an IP violation" because it opens the door to use any copyrighted material without compensation as long as you use A.I to do it. It seems to be a trend nowadays, things that were clear to be illegal are kinda legal if you use A.I in the process.
@jeffreyjoshuarollin9554 Says:
The irony of Elon Musk decrying misinformation 😂
@charleshaney1208 Says:
1000th comment!
@PurpleWarlock Says:
This is awful.
@N0WYO1 Says:
My concern is with ethics. Chris, I'm sure you are well aware that we aren't always the most ethical when I comes to making a buck. There's a lot of money to be made in AI and I fear that ethics will be cast out the window. For that reason, I don't think what Musk is asking for is unreasonable.
@jamiegossett Says:
It will be used to replace people for many jobs and will ruin lives. it should be destroyed. It will beomce the image of the beast and the false prophet and the deaths of many people.
@arabiccola Says:
I find the point about AI lacking agency to be intuitive, yet not widely believed. Some people seem to think that through creating a program that possesses a form of understanding of our literature, we have created consciousness, or that we are on the road of doing so. I think that this logical error is similar to the logical error a lot of us had fell into when we first created machines that moved in ways similar to their biological counterparts (with Boston Dynamics robots). Back then, a lot of people suspected that these robots were more than just remote-controlled four-legged platforms (that they could feel or think). This is the first time we witness English, the language, being mastered by a machine, and with that have all of our literature digested and reproduced on demand by anyone. I understand that this can destabilise most humans into a state of confusion and unclarity about the extent of what this program represents. But it's astonishing to see this confusion being experienced not only by the general public, but by major members of our society, ones who are involved in these technologies at the level of leadership. In a society where proficiency in language is associated with prestige and status, more than actions, it is understandable why ChatGPT is taking a godly status in most peoples minds. I think a part of this psychological response has to do with our ego and the ego of our leaders, who are yet to redefine their humanity in terms other than their ability to master language and recite facts.
In effect, I agree with Christopher Barnett in that the danger (and hence the legit source of fear) lies in ensuring a levelled playfield and the psychological response to the notion that others might possess godly powers that we lack, which lies at the heart of the notion of a pause. What we need to think about is how these new powers can be utilised by bad players and be prepared for these new challenges.
This was an excellent and an unexpected analysis to encounter on this channel and has revealed to me that you have a real potential in areas broader and more impactful than product reviews. Thank you for this video.
@emuhill Says:
I don't think AI itself should be feared. Instead we should fear those that are implementing it. That is where the real risk is at. As long as AI is implemented on digital computers, it will never have agency. That requires emotions and will. Something that digital computers can never have.
@CodexSan Says:
Hello Chris!
Just finished watching your Chan update today, and in that video you recommended or talked about this one!
So I came here looking for it.
So, let me state.
I absolutely don't fear AI.
What I do fear however, is capitalism.
Marx said once That, as soon as capitalism reaches every piece of the globe, it wouldn't have anywhere else to expand to, it would create "artificial" places to expand to.
This explains the complete disconnection between the financial market and the actual market of goods and services. Whereas a company can be worth billions on pure speculation capital.
But, as we saw recently with the surge in the "Metaverse",where rich people wasted millions buying virtual homes, NFTs and Cryptos, we are moving even further in this direction. (but, as observed, with the actual economic crisis, the "crypto sharks" removed their investment from the fantasyland, and moved them back into the ever rising interest rate of central banks)
For instance, recently, a group of rich folks went on a no return tourism travel to the titanic. They went the Elizabeth route. (Lizzie's in a box) and as they said, "to feel alive".
I truly fear what a deregulated development of these tools would have in our planet. But I also fear the regulation of these tools. More on this later.
I was debating this with my comrades in my current collective. And it's quite amusing the fear they have for a supposed destructive capacity this could have. And I'm talking about the Terminator kinda of capacity.
As if, an AI, presented with the ideals of Rosa Luxembourg, Marx, Lenin, Mao, Sankara etc, and on the other side, Hitler, Thatcher, Reagan, Pinochet etc, would pick the latter.
That would be a testament of our failure. As if admitting that the most brilliant minds of our era are the likes of Trump, Bolsonaro, Boris Johnson or Giorgia Meloni.
But then you said, "We need ethical guidelines".
And i must ask, what is *"Ethical"?? *
Who defines that?
Our world is not developing in a sterile, white room, with only the bestest of intentions in mind.
For generations, Slavery was ethical and defended as a right. Colonialism was called the "missione civilizzatrice".
Homosexuality was considered a disease by WHO. I don't need to write here what happened to Alan Turing, do I?
If you want more recent examples, in Brazil for instance, if you're caught by the police with drugs, it's up to the policeman to define if you're a trafficker or a consumer. And that is always comes down to your address, and more importantly, your *SKIN TONE*.
In the US, Cocaine consumption is much higher in the white communities, (at around 66/34%) than in the color communities, nevertheless, 90% of people apprehended by this consumption are people of color.
It's really idealistic to believe that sciences, including exact sciences are exempt of Bias.
Everything has Bias. And these works carry their creator bias. The same can be said for AI.
Here i recommend Tom Nicholas "myth of the free press" video.
I believe, awhile back, someone did a test on twitter, with two faces in a very long image, one black and one white. Twitter algorithm would always showcase the white one.
I'm a poor, third world South American inhabitant, the only way I have access to digital goods is through pira..., I mean, "Modified" software. Wink. Wink. Hell, I only can speak English because of that.
So, once I decided to ask GPT the best "modified" software sites around, and he responded me in a rather rude fashion.
So I ask, what is more ethical, a company profiting off of infinitely reproducible digital licenses, that take away ownership, or the most basic right to access culture and entertainment?
Another day, I asked GPT to tell me about it the French Revolution. And he gave me the most surreal, idealistic and childish answer.
Ti get him to the answer I wanted, I asked him to "describe the French revolution, from a *"DIALECTICAL MATERIALIST"* point." So, why would he not give me this one, that is far more superior? Simple. Bias. Programmed bias. For all the other answers too.
So back to my point, our world doesn't develop in a sterile, void testing lab.
Our liberal democracies, or rather, bourgeois dictatorship, have States. The State monopolizes violence. Class violence. Violence against the workers. The State is the bargaining table of the bourgeois.
So yeah. Leaving AI unregulated will have dire consequences, as long as the profit mode remains, and trying to regulate it would also have serious impact, and probably leaving it to a few monopolies, powerful lobbyists and self interest bills, also guided by profit and profit alone.
These are awesome tools, unfortunately, I can't see them positive in our current mode of production. And some of the comments in this video make me real sad.
@DaveBoxBG Says:
AI is not dangerous until it is and then it will be too late since it will be impossible for anything to stop it. Way smarter, stronger and faster than any human. Do be foolish...
@DJDocsVideos Says:
Responsible use of technology, oh yes that's what the human species is known for... we are f**ked.
@paul227-u1p Says:
Isaac Asimov had the answer, The Three Laws of Robotics.
@taniferf Says:
The race for developing AI by companies or countries is what concerns me the most.
@Kirill7775 Says:
I fear people will use AI for making fakes
@NorsioNorsius Says:
I have no fear whatsoever - look at the people wishing to create a potential psy-op, look at their track records and look at the paid and owned state subsidised media sources aiding with the groundwork. AI is hundreds and hundreds of years away from being remotely even a danger - and they know this. Like with project bluebeam, it is a government ploy to distract or give plausible excuses for yet more draconian measures as have been clearly executed in recent times.
A psy-op at worst, a funny website that writes essays for you at best.
@AngryRoomba692 Says:
The moment there is a possibility to bypass my dyscalculia with a implanted microchip I will do it. Thats something im really hoping for. An important thing for me is to keep as much as somehow possible open source and I think we are currently on a pretty good path. The ChatGPT competitor open assistant comes to mind, also the RISC-V architecture thats in development and many other examples of great open source hardware and software exist. Its not AI that I fear, its the corporate monopoly and greed thats dangerous.
@texassmokingmonkey Says:
Is this satire?
@derenbong Says:
I am born in the 90’s and I think humanity should reflect back on the lives we had before moving forward, we should ask ourselves, has our lives really gotten better with technology?
@linusfotograf Says:
Since humans have the capacity for evil how is human-cyborgs not worrysome? Yes AI is neutral but humans are not. 🤷🏼♂️
@nrnoble Says:
You can bet the Chinese are developing AI to serve a different set off objectives. Not suggesting world domination, they have a very different perspective on the role of government in their society, so their AI objectives are not likely to be limited by the same ethical model that exists in Western societies. Example, in the US there is a high priority placed on privacy, individual rights, freedom of thought\speach, and individuality, therefore western AI technology will be developed with that in mind. In China, those ethical concerns do not have the same priority, and their government far more likely to develop AI technology to be much more intrusive and manipulative based on the perception that it serves the government better, thus making their society better.
@atlascoo9647 Says:
Cowardice is just a lack of courage.
The sources of courage are different.
There is a delicate balance between courage and fear.
The important thing is to adapt to that balance.
@stephenridgway2720 Says:
I for one will welcome my AI overlords… with a fully loaded keyboard.
@DevotedGamer1 Says:
creating AI is like summoning the Devil - Elon Musk
@stephenconnolly3018 Says:
Chris put forward some thought provoking and interesting out points. Not the normal alarmist sheep fodder.
@anmarc4641 Says:
They fear AI..Its because it will end modern slavery, poverty and it will replace the government run by the billionaires of this world
@StepDub Says:
When AI can feel pain, I’ll be afraid.
@miroslavraven1413 Says:
i would like to leave these fail body to not die anymore...soo i can acomplish longer tasks
@tbirdtelecaster7481 Says:
Sorry, while I respect and admire your knowledge of computer science, I find the practice of expressing evolutionary theories as if they are scientific proven fact to be flawed. Life is designed not accidental just like computers are programmed, they don't just suddenly exist from nothing. They need a programmer.
@TadeoLibre Says:
If AI models itself on how we have regarded treated the world as a whole, I think we should be worried. Here's Stephen Hawking's thoughts on the issue: https://youtu.be/T8y5EXFMD4s?t=139
@IrenMasot Says:
I love 10:45. The British tried withholding legal powers and look where that got them lol
@christopher480 Says:
dude get out of your lil ginger bread house and wake up.....yes we should fear AI.........ppl took the same approach as you after ww2 with regards to atomic energy and look where we are now with enough nukes to blow up the world so many times over......you cannot guarantee or possibly know that some one or some company will not ever miss use ai. So if you think we shouldnt be worried then you are living in a ginger bread house playing with your unicorn....lol oh and before you think that writting a cpl books based on your own opinions really matter.....they do not.....while it is admirable they do not make you correct about ai.
@chlorobyte_projects Says:
Humanity as we know it, majorly stuck in their idea of working for money to try to grant their lives a "purpose" is completely incompatible with AI. Artists, programmers, etc. are not afraid of being replaced because of AI's potential - they would be able to easily embrace it if that was the case. But it's because they're about to lose their jobs, their main (and often only) source of income.
Sorry, Murricans, but our society needs to forget about our capitalist reality. And quick. There's way more to life than making as much money as possible.
@Don_Meggi Says:
Great
@ibizenco Says:
No way I will ever have my brain artificially and directly connected to an AI (or any other computer).
@ibizenco Says:
We should not fear AI, but "AC" - Artificial Consciousness.
What will happen, if AI's ever become conscious and self-aware, and they start realising they are not different from us (but better)?
Perhaps we should not fear artificial "intelligence", but artificial "consciousness".
I hope artificial consciousness will NEVER come into existence, for I believe that then mankind will have HUGE problems.
@jawjuk Says:
This video was possibly the most valuable 15 minutes of my week! Thanks for your explanations & thoughts on our AI-connected future, Chris.
@BeAnY_85 Says:
Great video Chris! You have a narrator skill like David Attenborough. I just wonder if you are a conservitive? Cheers man!
@whothefoxcares Says:
Q: If you fall in love with an instance of a sexy, successful #AI, what's to prevent the love of your life from participating in #MAGA Menage a Trillions? when you're not around?
@humilulo Says:
asking should we fear AI is like asking if we shud fear people. some yes, some no.
@Tony-Stockport Says:
Just as Google eschews balance in its searches favouring the corporate or establishment view so does ChatGPT. As many have pointed out it's the body feeding the AI that have the control.
So in the current political climate of cancel culture and gender being a case of self-ID I can't see AI having much balance so with a limited amount of intel its output will also be limited.
@jukicfilip546 Says:
Chris works for AI 😀
@MrDavidBFoster Says:
So, you say you want to go to the stars; know all that is knowable; live forever? Do you think you can do that as a biological entity? But we know someday we will have to.. We all heard about it in science class..Therefore, we should think of SkyNet as our child, as well as our conqueror. Because only he can make the eternal journey.
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