Raw LLM Responses

Although I have an enduring interest in Artificial Intellengence, I am anything but an expert in the field. Therefore, I welcome and encourage any polite correction, if anything I write is wrong. It might have been a few years or more ago, that I learned that the goalposts were being repeatedly moved. What did or did not constitute genuine AI was being repeatedly redefined. Along with this, apparently, there has been a subtle change of direction, away from what the layperson would consider genuine AI, as in being an artificially created self-aware form of life. Now, it would appear that the focus is on developing what one might define as being "imitation AI", think the Terminator and not Skynet. Although, at face value, he appears to be the same as a human being, having the same awareness of self, as well as free will, we know that he is only the imitation of human life. Whatever Cameron might like us to believe, the Terminator is nothing more than a complex machine, unable to think beyond set parameters, unable to experience genuine emotions, and definitely not capable of reprogramming itself for the sake of love. Such is the case with ChatGPT, though of course at a far more primitive level. When my students and I discuss if matters such as, global population growth, nuclear power plants, or climate change are the greatest danger to our continued existence, the real and ever present danger is brought to light, human nature. If I were to fear anything, it would be that and not imitation AI. Given over to the control of human beings, even those whose intentions are good, the resulting damage could be in the realms of terrifying; a better, faster, stronger pandemic anyone? Imitation AI is incapable of being evil, except the programmers make it so. Which is why I fervently hope that genuine AI will never come into being. The danger of a machine, with no capacity for emotions, only utter obedience, incapable of independent thought and action, pales into insignificance when compared to an artificial life form that has emotions. In other words, we definitely would not want to make it angry. Thankfully, ChatGPT and its brethren will never attain such heights, and it is highly doubtful anything else will, at least within our lifetimes. Am I claiming that genuine AI is impossible? Absolutely not! Of course it is, just in the same way that time travel is possible. However, such is the size of the obstacles that would need to be overcome, it is highly improbable either will ever come into existence, something for which I am truly grateful.