What about our current version of AI?

AI, intelligence, and humanity. Science fiction has several examples of what it means to be human, but can they be compared to the AI of today?

ChatGPT and its ilk are called Large Language Models. In simplest terms, they have stored billions of words and can use math to predict what's coming next based on what has already been shown. Intelligent is not something I would call ChatGPT, its ability is to regurgitate what has already been written, not create anything new. This does not mean that it doesn't APPEAR to be intelligent. I've been using it to write some simple scripts and it does an amazing job for the most part. However, it can get tripped up with the logic. Case in point, a script I was trying to use this past week kept failing. The reason was because ChatGPT was using greater than or equal to on a conditional when it should have been only greater than.

What strikes me most about the lack of intelligence with the current crop of AI is that when you open ChatGPT, it just sits there. It doesn't do anything until you interact with it.

Science fiction AI

There are two examples of SciFi AI to look at. Most people go with Terminator as one, but I'm going to go with 2001 A Space Odyssey's HAL in one corner and Star Trek The Next Generation's Data in the other. HAL is great for one simple fact, its creation was unencumbered by decades of AI stories. HAL creatively found?solutions to get rid of the pesky humans on board the spaceship.

Data was an android, unemotional and unattached to human social norms. However, the writers gave Data one very important trait; the ability to not only want to improve himself, but to actually be able to get better at what we would call "being human."

Both of these examples of AI show forms of intelligence beyond recalling facts. They show creativity, problem solving, and, dare I say it, humanity.

Where is AI Going

AI currently is like a kid who's great at memorization and recall but has no common sense. It is impressive, but not wise. Will AI grow up and become truly intelligent? That's like asking if a person who isn't even born yet is going to grow up and be the next Stephen Hawking. The potential is there, but, ask it to tell a joke or understand emotion and you're going to get something pretty lame.

The future of AI is foggy. Sure, there's a lot of talk of AI becoming consciousness or super-intelligent, but let's ground ourselves for a moment. The evolution of AI has it slowly getting better at understanding context and not hallucinating as much. It may even get better at telling jokes! But to reach the level of HAL or Data? That's a pretty high bar to reach. It will take not only processing power and data, but also a better understanding of ourselves and what it means to be human.

I'm in wait-and-see mode with AI, using it for where it excels and making fun of it where it doesn't. However, I am beginning to understand where it will take us, a future with a digital sidekick that is less about being human and more about enhancing our human experiences. AI isn't about replacing us, it's about augmenting our abilities.

Written by Eduk8me’s Ryan Collins who writes about education and educational technology. He’s also the Director of Technology for Kenton City Schools in Ohio. Sign up for his Of Bits and Bytes newsletter at?https://eduk8.me .