What's happening?

For hundreds of years, writers have considered what might happen if our creations spin out of our control. The singularity is how some people think we will lose control of artificial intelligence software. It could develop without us and eventually overthrow us.

This year, there have been huge developments in AI software. Some fear this means that the singularity is getting closer.

Late last year, OpenAI released a powerful new chatbot called ChatGPT. It looked at 300 billion words and learned to write like a human. In fact, many said that they could not tell the difference between ChatGPT and a real person.

During World War Two, Alan TuringThe English mathematician is considered the father of AI. He played a major role in cracking the German Enigma machine in WWII. was one of the codebreakers at Bletchley ParkThe top-secret base of English codebreakers during World War Two. . He devised the Turing test to see if a computer could convince users into thinking it was human.

In 2023, developers say their bots have passed the test. They write essays and chat fluently. They even threaten people's jobs. Online earnings for writing have dropped 10% since ChatGPT launched.

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Others are less convinced. ChatGPT has limited information and can generate wrong answers. It fails to understand basic context.

Is "the singularity" coming?

Yes! The rate of development is so fast that existing AI models can help to develop and refine future models.

No! There are still many issues with AI chatbots. They answer questions wrong, fail to understand context and often communicate unnaturally.