The death of trust

The death of trust

Where do you go to find the answer to a question? Who do you trust? Before the Web, you went to the network news or the local newspaper. If you needed a practical answer, you might take a book out of the library or ask somebody who you thought was likely to know the answer…

Sarah Silverman will lose her copyright suit against OpenAI

Sarah Silverman will lose her copyright suit against OpenAI

The entertainer Sarah Silverman and other authors sued OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Silverman alleged that OpenAI violated her rights by ingesting her book The Bedwetter. Silverman’s suit claims that ChatGPT can summarize parts of the the book, so it has clearly read the book, and since the book is copyrighted, this constitutes a violation….

Don’t be fooled. The call to pause AI research is purely symbolic.

Don’t be fooled. The call to pause AI research is purely symbolic.

More than 1,000 people including Elon Musk, Andrew Yang, and Steve Wozniak signed a statement calling for a six-month pause in development of large-language-model-based artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT. “Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable,” the statement says….

Monty Python’s argument clinic: how “funny” demands unexpected shifts in perspective that machines will never master

Monty Python’s argument clinic: how “funny” demands unexpected shifts in perspective that machines will never master

I admit it: I’m obsessed with why ChatGPT and other AI services can’t be funny. I’m convinced the answer is that true humor demands an unexpected shift in perspective, and AI machines, trained to mimic patterns in what they’ve read, have problems with both “unexpected” and “shift in perspective.” Monty Python is the master of…

ChatGPT lies about me

ChatGPT lies about me

I asked ChatGPT “Who is Josh Bernoff?” The result is below. I count 11 lies in 142 words. How many can you find? (Blatant hint: my actual bio is on this site.) I look forward to reading your answers in the comments. Analysis tomorrow. Josh Bernoff is a well-known author, speaker, and strategic advisor on…

Ethan Mollick required his students to use ChatGPT. Their experience is a model for the future.

Ethan Mollick required his students to use ChatGPT. Their experience is a model for the future.

Ethan Mollick, associate professor at Penn’s Wharton School, required his students to use the AI writing tool ChatGPT in his classes last semester. You should definitely check out his description of the experience; it’s full of real-world insights that are far more valuable than the noodlings of naysayers. Start with the intention to learn Unimaginative…