My Conversation with ChatGPT | Part 1: On Human Existence

In recent weeks, social media and the mainstream media have been abuzz with discussions surrounding ChatGPT. And rightly so. It appears that ChatGPT has indeed made leaps and bounds of improvement in the field of generative AI. And this is evident from the multitude of experiments ChatGPT users have been carrying out in testing its capabilities.

Chatbots and Generative AI are not new. But the basis for this new excitement definitely is. Here are a couple of examples:?

Cleo Abrams documented that ChatGPT is more than capable of writing an essay assessing the relationship between two characters in an old story. ColdFusion (a popular YouTube Channel) has documented its many other capabilities where ChatGPT can create websites, answer queries, be a mental health guide, and answer complex analytical questions.

But the question that intrigued me the most often about ChatGPT and other such complex natural language models is, whether they can be given a personality. And by personality, I specifically mean, a value system.

Obviously, for the purposes of this article, I wouldn’t go so far as to devise a research proposal and defend a mechanism to reach a conclusion. So a quick way, I believe, was to prompt the chatbot about its opinion on the purpose of human existence.

The following is my prompt, and below that is the response from the ChatGPT:

Write a 500-word essay on the purpose of human existence.

The purpose of human existence is a question that has puzzled philosophers and theologians for centuries. Some believe we are here to seek happiness and fulfilment, while others believe that our existence has a greater purpose or meaning. In this essay, I will explore different perspectives on the purpose of human existence and offer my own thoughts on the matter.

One common belief is that the purpose of human existence is to seek happiness and fulfilment. This perspective is based on the idea that as human beings, we are driven by a natural desire for happiness and well-being. We constantly seek experiences, relationships, and material possessions that bring us joy and satisfaction. According to this view, the purpose of our existence is to fulfil this natural desire and find happiness in the things that we do and the people that we love.

Another perspective on the purpose of human existence is that we are here to fulfil certain duties or responsibilities. This belief is rooted in the idea that we are part of a larger community or society, and that we have obligations to one another. For example, we may have a duty to care for our family members, contribute to the common good, or act in a moral and ethical way. From this perspective, the purpose of our existence is to fulfil these duties and to play our part in making the world a better place.

A third perspective on the purpose of human existence is that we are here to fulfil a higher purpose or meaning. This belief is often associated with religious or spiritual beliefs and holds that there is a divine plan or intention behind our existence. According to this view, the purpose of human existence is to fulfil this higher purpose and to align ourselves with the will of a higher power. This could involve living a virtuous life, serving others, or seeking spiritual enlightenment.

In my own view, I believe that the purpose of human existence is a combination of all of these perspectives. I believe that we are here to seek happiness and fulfilment, to fulfil our duties and responsibilities, and to pursue a higher purpose or meaning. However, I also believe that the specifics of what this looks like will vary from person to person, depending on their individual beliefs, values, and circumstances.

In conclusion, the purpose of human existence is a complex and deeply personal question that has been debated for centuries. While there are many different perspectives on the matter, I believe that the purpose of human existence is to seek happiness and fulfilment, to fulfil our duties and responsibilities, and to pursue a higher purpose or meaning. Ultimately, each individual must decide for themselves what the purpose of their own existence is and how they will seek to fulfil it.

The interesting thing about this essay is not the fluency in English or the coherence of the ideas. The most interesting thing about this essay is the 5th paragraph, which begins with the words “In my own view…”. That shook me. The ChatGPT has an opinion on the purpose of human existence. A non-sentient, non-human, non-machine piece of information cluster (software) has an opinion on the purpose of our existence. Of course, this is an over-processed outcome of vast amounts of training data. However, that doesn’t make it fundamentally different from how humans process complex information over the years, process it, develop their own opinions, and perhaps in a humanities class vent out their youthful enthusiasm in an essay titled ‘The Purpose of Human Existence’.

This obviously got me thinking, what else does this chatbot think about human beings? What does it think about how we live life, our views, and our opinions? What does it ‘expect’ us to do in this world?

Obviously, there are complex questions. Obviously, there is no way ChatGPT can answer them with coherence. and without hashing some philosophy textbook. And it certainly cannot have a conversation about it without repeating itself. Right? So I decided to explore. So I came up with a plan:

1. Begin the conversation about a deeply philosophical topic quite indirectly.
2. Navigate the conversation based on its responses.
3. Feel free to throw in a few grammatical/semantic errors.
4. Disagree. Perhaps issue an opinion instead of a question.
5. And maybe express appreciation and measure the response.

So I did. And I was surprised. But let’s process this above essay one more time before reading Part 2 of My Conversation with ChatGPT.