Time for a rant. Well, not really a rant - more of an observation on the hypocrisy, or at least the ignorance, of how people view modern technology.
As my research is currently based firmly in artificial intelligence - all aspects of it, not just generative AI - I often hear people say with absolute conviction:
"I don't like AI. I'll never use it."
Fair enough. Don't use it then.
But if you are truly committing to an AI-free lifestyle, you're going to have to give up a few things...
The "I Don't Use AI" Starter Pack
So, you want to avoid AI? Here is what you need to stop doing today:
- Give up your phone. Autocorrect, spelling checkers, search engines, and even those neat photo and video clean-up features all use artificial intelligence.
- Stop using the internet. Most, if not all, of the major search engines use AI to find you the best results.
- Learn the language before going abroad. Translator apps are only as good as they are because of generative AI.
- Stop video conferencing. Do you like the automatic transcripts in Teams or Zoom? Guess what? That's AI doing the work for you.
- Stop using your credit card. Fraud has become such a minefield these days that the only way credit companies can keep up and keep your transactions safe is with AI-powered fraud detection.
- Ditch the digital maps. Not sure how to get somewhere? Better find a physical paper map (if you can even find one). All the big map providers use AI to calculate the best route for you in real-time.
- Cancel your streaming subscriptions. Do you enjoy the recommendations from Netflix, Spotify, or Deezer? Better not use them anymore. Those recommendation engines are some of the most obvious machine learning algorithms out there.
- No more Ubers. Hailing a cab or getting the bus via an app? Uber and others use driver-matching algorithms and route optimisations, all based on AI.
- Unplug the smart speakers. This one should be obvious, but you will have to stop using Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and all the other digital assistants out there. I wanted to include this because I actually know people who claim they "hate AI" but use these smart speaker devices daily.
AI is Here to Stay (And Generative AI is Just the New Guy)
The point of this rant? AI is here to stay.
It has been in our lives for a lot longer than most people realise. Generative AI is only the new guy on the block. At the moment, it is still novel, and people are just discovering the best uses for it.
Now, do I agree with the way it's being used? Not entirely.
There need to be more guardrails in place. More testing in air-gapped sandboxes needs to happen. Right now, the big companies are trying to sprint without learning to tie their shoes first. At first, running like that feels great, but eventually, they will face-plant into the dirt.
How This Relates to My Work
How does this connect to my actual research? Well, I'm not trying to build the next ChatGPT or Claude. I'm not even sure I will go the route of language models (although I may have a crack at implementing one just to see).
My research, whilst originally about dreams, has evolved into looking at more efficient AI, safer AI, and - frankly - not trying to destroy the human race. I'm not in the race for ASI (Artificial Superintelligence) or even AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). I'm much more interested in making AI safer and drastically more efficient regarding power consumption.
Asimov was right in proposing the Three Laws of Robotics, even if it was in a body of fiction. The real problem is implementing them. Today, we call it the "alignment problem," but to me, that term is even more ambiguous than Asimov's laws.
The Bottom Line
I went a bit off track there, so back to the original topic.
Ultimately, AI is here, and it's not going away. It's here in the same way the steam engine came into our lives, or the same way the car became the norm. We need to accept it. But at the same time, tech companies need to take responsibility for coding (or, in my opinion, training) it to follow fundamental directives that absolutely cannot be overwritten.
Anyway, that's my view. I hope it made sense! Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below.
