{"id":15443,"date":"2024-08-08T04:38:16","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T02:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/08\/no-god-in-the-machine-the-pitfalls-of-ai-worship\/"},"modified":"2024-08-08T04:38:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T02:38:16","slug":"no-god-in-the-machine-the-pitfalls-of-ai-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/08\/no-god-in-the-machine-the-pitfalls-of-ai-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"No god in the machine: the pitfalls of AI worship"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rise of artificial intelligence has sparked a panic about computers gaining power over humankind. But the real threat comes from falling for the hype<\/p>\n

In Arthur C Clarke\u2019s short story The Nine Billion Names of God, a sect of monks in Tibet believes humanity has a divinely inspired purpose: inscribing all the various names of God. Once the list was complete, they thought, he would bring the universe to an end. Having worked at it by hand for centuries, the monks decide to employ some modern technology. Two sceptical engineers arrive in the Himalayas, powerful computers in tow. Instead of 15,000 years to write out all the permutations of God\u2019s name, the job gets done in three months. As the engineers ride ponies down the mountainside, Clarke\u2019s tale ends with one of literature\u2019s most economical final lines: \u201cOverhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is an image of the computer as a shortcut to objectivity or ultimate meaning \u2013 which also happens to be, at least part of, what now animates the fascination with artificial intelligence. Though the technologies that underpin AI have existed for some time, it\u2019s only since late 2022, with the emergence of OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT, that the technology that approached intelligence appeared to be much closer. In a 2023 report by Microsoft Canada<\/a>, president Chris Barry proclaimed that \u201cthe era of AI is here, ushering in a transformative wave with potential to touch every facet of our lives\u201d, and that \u201cit is not just a technological advancement; it is a societal shift\u201d. That is among the more level-headed reactions. Artists and writers are panicking that they will be made obsolete, governments are scrambling to catch up and regulate, and academics are debating furiously.<\/p>\n

Continue reading…<\/a>
\nThe rise of artificial intelligence has sparked a panic about computers gaining power over humankind. But the real threat comes from falling for the hype
\nIn Arthur C Clarke\u2019s short story The Nine Billion Names of God, a sect of monks in Tibet believes humanity has a divinely inspired purpose: inscribing all the various names of God. Once the list was complete, they thought, he would bring the universe to an end. Having worked at it by hand for centuries, the monks decide to employ some modern technology. Two sceptical engineers arrive in the Himalayas, powerful computers in tow. Instead of 15,000 years to write out all the permutations of God\u2019s name, the job gets done in three months. As the engineers ride ponies down the mountainside, Clarke\u2019s tale ends with one of literature\u2019s most economical final lines: \u201cOverhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.\u201d
\nIt is an image of the computer as a shortcut to objectivity or ultimate meaning \u2013 which also happens to be, at least part of, what now animates the fascination with artificial intelligence. Though the technologies that underpin AI have existed for some time, it\u2019s only since late 2022, with the emergence of OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT, that the technology that approached intelligence appeared to be much closer. In a 2023 report by Microsoft Canada, president Chris Barry proclaimed that \u201cthe era of AI is here, ushering in a transformative wave with potential to touch every facet of our lives\u201d, and that \u201cit is not just a technological advancement; it is a societal shift\u201d. That is among the more level-headed reactions. Artists and writers are panicking that they will be made obsolete, governments are scrambling to catch up and regulate, and academics are debating furiously. Continue reading…Technology | The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rise of artificial intelligence has sparked a panic about computers gaining power over humankind. But the real threat comes from falling for the hype In Arthur C Clarke\u2019s short story The Nine Billion Names of God, a sect of monks in Tibet believes humanity has a divinely inspired purpose: inscribing all the various names …<\/p>\n

No god in the machine: the pitfalls of AI worship<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15443"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/costops.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}