Clippy, Giles, and the Reason Chat-GPT Is Impressive (It's not what you think it is.)

I made a joke recently. What happens if Open AI's black box is Schroedinger's box, and when you open it, you find a sad, dead carcass of...

Clippy.

One of the less intelligent people who litter my feed with his posts about AI contradicted people who dismiss AI or are skeptical about it, saying that AI will affect every aspect of our lives, even if it isn't quite where it should be. This is a tell, you see. The future tense. It's adorable that anyone thinks this is new in any sense. Because AI has already affected all aspects of our lives, starting with how World War was waged. The possibility for it erupted through Turing in the 30s. The tech for the language model we now have first emerged in 1955 and has been developing since then.

AI is what brought the socially connected web to its pinnacle; it's what perfected the Netflix streaming experience. It's been providing clothing choices in robostyling subscriptions and suggesting books for you to read. It's been directing what news you see and when. It's been crushing it in protein folding and genetic mapping for a significant period, and we were experimenting with cockroach robots in 2003. The idea that you are saying "will," a LinkedIn poster looking for a new career, is simply precious. If I sound salty, it's because I am; I'm not feeling like being agreeable today because some people are starting to grate on my nerves with their flailing opportunism and the people they hurt trying to drink from a firehose. You aren't going to make up for two decades of unconsciousness and phoning it in by following a couple of folks on Linked In. Well, except for me. That might help. :)

However, I can understand wanting to silence critiques because the critiques are frequently reductive. While the hype is ludicrous to the educated, there is an innovation within ChatGPT; it simply is not what people think it is. Its limits can be more accurately stated as follows: GPT effectiveness quickly wanes without human input and fine-tuning. While it can replicate certain aspects of human intelligence, like John Searle's Chinese Room Argument , it remains an illusory intelligence at best, slightly better than some chatbots that pre-existed it. It remains a reflection of its creators' intellect and the intellect behind the data put into it. The "intelligence" of the system is bound by the quality of its programming and data, highlighting the ongoing challenge of distinguishing accurate intelligence from clever imitation in the digital age.

But I feel like telling you a story. Do you feel like reading one? If not. You got the jewels right here. :) If so...here is my story

If you want to hear my story about having my ass handed to me in a dork-kid face off trivia contest in 1982 you'll find the rest here at my new newsletter home on Ghost. I will still be posting free content here and keep my newsletter here for now. :)