Is ChatGPT dangerous? A new AI-powered chatbot has taken the world by storm. Some predict it will upend our entire lives; others say it is nothing more than a conjuring trick.
Chatbot is 'a virus released into the world'
Is ChatGPT dangerous? A new AI-powered chatbot has taken the world by storm. Some predict it will upend our entire lives; others say it is nothing more than a conjuring trick.
In the 19th Century, a movement called Spiritualism swept the world. Spiritualists claimed they could communicate with the dead. To prove it, they invited people to witness their seances, in which ghosts would send them messages by rapping on surfaces and moving objects around.
Spiritualism was a big hit. Major writers like Charles DickensThe Victorian novelist is credited with inventing Christmas as we know it today through the warm descriptions of it in his books. and Arthur Conan DoyleA 19th and 20th Century British writer, best known for the Sherlock Holmes series. were enthusiasts. Thomas EdisonAn American inventor who also pioneered sound recording and movie cameras. even tried to design a "spirit phone" that would allow people to record the ghostly messages for posterity.
But the Spiritualists were soon revealed to be frauds. They had created the spooky messages themselves with tricks and clever devices.
Today, few are convinced by stories of ghostly communications. But some think there are parallels with a much more modern phenomenon: the AI chatbotA chatbot is a computer programme that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions..
Last week a new chatbot called ChatGPT made waves across the world. Experts are amazed at its long, fluent answers. Unlike previous chatbots, it has the ability to admit when it makes mistakes and challenge the questioner.
Some think it could revolutionise our lives. Right now, if you want to do anything online, you have to go through a search engine, like Google or Bing. It means navigating through a series of links and websites, trying to find what you want manually.
Chatbots can make all this much simpler. Whether we want to know the name of an actor in the film we are watching, set up a bank account or buy a Christmas present, the chatbot will be able to do everything for us.
Some fear the impact of chatbots could be more harmful. They warn it could be used to cheat on homework and exams. It could put millions of people out of a job.1
But critics are not so sure. They think ChatGPT, like Spiritualism, is a parlour trickA trick performed to entertain guests. masquerading as a scientific breakthrough.
One of the first chatbots was developed in the 1960s by a scientist named Joseph Weizenbaum. It was called ELIZA, and it was only capable of asking questions based on the user's statements: it could not actually understand anything that was said to it.
Weizenbaum's aim was to show that communication between humans and machines was superficial. But he was surprised to find the users attributing human thoughts and emotions to it. Many began telling the machine their most intimate secrets, believing it understood their inner lives.
The more modern chatbots might be more sophisticated, but, sceptics say, they are just doing the same thing: playing on the fact that we instinctively treat anything that can respond to us as if it is intelligent. This is doubly true if it is helpful, polite, and seems to be interested in what we have to say.
Spiritualism was a success because people wanted to believe in it. They had a deep yearning to talk to their lost loved ones.
Chatbots, sceptics say, are just pulling the same cheap trick. We do not mind that the chatbot does not really understand what we tell it, because we want to believe that on a deeper level, it does understand who we really are.
Is ChatGPT dangerous?
Yes: This could be the death of original writing. No-one will ever write anything for themselves any more, meaning that all writing will come to look exactly the same. We could be witnessing the end of an art form.
No: The chatbot is not nearly as sophisticated as it seems: it is just telling us what we want to hear. It does not have any real understanding.
Or... Even if the chatbot is not very sophisticated, it could still be dangerous. People might come to prefer talking to the chatbot than to other human beings, believing it understands them better than any human.
Keywords
Charles Dickens - The Victorian novelist is credited with inventing Christmas as we know it today through the warm descriptions of it in his books.
Arthur Conan Doyle - A 19th and 20th Century British writer, best known for the Sherlock Holmes series.
Thomas Edison - An American inventor who also pioneered sound recording and movie cameras.
chatbot - A chatbot is a computer programme that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions.
Parlour trick - A trick performed to entertain guests.
Chatbot is ‘a virus released into the world’
Glossary
Charles Dickens - The Victorian novelist is credited with inventing Christmas as we know it today through the warm descriptions of it in his books.
Arthur Conan Doyle - A 19th and 20th Century British writer, best known for the Sherlock Holmes series.
Thomas Edison - An American inventor who also pioneered sound recording and movie cameras.
chatbot - A chatbot is a computer programme that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions.
Parlour trick - A trick performed to entertain guests.