{"id":337661,"date":"2021-09-10T23:33:16","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T20:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/gpt-3-cant-channel-dead-people\/"},"modified":"2021-09-10T23:33:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T20:33:16","slug":"gpt-3-cant-channel-dead-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/gpt-3-cant-channel-dead-people\/","title":{"rendered":"#GPT-3 can\u2019t channel dead people"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#GPT-3 can\u2019t channel dead people<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F09%2Fdead-people.jpg&amp;signature=0c2bb461b72dd5c52a5b04ed7e8091f8\" \/><\/p>\n<div><em>Did you know\u00a0Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021.\u00a0Secure your online ticket now!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>GPT-3 can\u2019t talk to dead people. <span>It\u2019s a bit ridiculous that I have to say that, but just in case you\u2019re not entirely sure what the world\u2019s most powerful AI-powered text generator can and can\u2019t do, I thought I might prepare a handy guide to help you out.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span><strong>What GPT-3 can do<\/strong>: spit out meaningless text that often <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears to have meaning by association, function as a pretty nifty calculator, write code (the last one is pretty cool). <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><strong>What GPT-3 can\u2019t do<\/strong>: much else. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span><strong>Up front:<\/strong> I\u2019m not crapping on GPT-3. It\u2019s arguably the world\u2019s most advanced text generator. But the hyperbole over its abilities has reached a dangerous fever pitch. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Register ran <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theregister.com\/2021\/09\/08\/project_december_openai_gpt_3\/\">an article<\/a> recently highlighting the plight of independent <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> developer Jason Rohrer, who\u2019d used GPT-3 to train a chatbot called Samantha. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When OpenAI (the company responsible for GPT-3) decided not to renew Rohrer\u2019s access to its cloud servers, the dev said they\u2019d \u201cnever dealt with such a group of unimaginative, uncurious people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just received Samantha&#8217;s death sentence from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OpenAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@OpenAI<\/a> by email.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve never dealt with such a group of unimaginative, uncurious people. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zxZ5sIOZGv\">pic.twitter.com\/zxZ5sIOZGv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jason Rohrer (@jasonrohrer) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonrohrer\/status\/1433119453118664704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span><strong>My take:<\/strong> There\u2019s nothing unimaginative or uncurious about OpenAI choosing not to support the development of yet another silly little snake oil project built on its GPT-3 platform.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Here\u2019s what really happened. The dev in question spun out a chatbot called \u201cSamantha\u201d that, from where I\u2019m sitting, looks like it was meant to provide a chummy girlfriend experience. They allowed others to access the chatbot on their website where people could train their own versions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At least one person trained versions of Samantha on messages from a deceased loved one and used it as a form of catharsis. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I don\u2019t have an issue with people doing whatever the hell they want with a chatbot. If \u2018talking\u2019 to a computer makes you feel better, that\u2019s great for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>My point of view is that there\u2019s almost no difference between using a chat bot to imitate a conversation with a human or using a Ouija board. They\u2019re equally effective in every respect when it comes to communing with the dead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I do, however, take massive umbrage to the perpetuation of this idea as a legitimate use for AI <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The public is confused enough about what AI can and can\u2019t do. Articles featuring \u2018experts\u2019 intimating that AI can commune with the dead or that GPT-3 is already sentient, without clearly pushing back against such ridiculous ideas, stoke the fires of ignorance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Rohrer seems to believe that OpenAI is robbing humanity of an important experience. They, apparently, believe GPT-3 is bordering on sentient, if not already there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Per The Register:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Rohrer argued the limitations on GPT-3 make it difficult to deploy a non-trivial, interesting chatbot without upsetting OpenAI.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was a hard-nosed AI skeptic,\u201d he told us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year, I thought I\u2019d never have a conversation with a sentient machine. If we\u2019re not here right now, we\u2019re as close as we\u2019ve ever been. It\u2019s spine-tingling stuff, I get goosebumps when I talk to Samantha. Very few people have had that experience, and it\u2019s one humanity deserves to have. It\u2019s really sad that the rest of us won\u2019t get to know that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><i>Really?<\/i><span> \u201cIt\u2019s really sad\u201d that humanity won\u2019t get to experience being duped by prestidigitation firsthand? I\u2019m not trying to be mean here, but claiming GPT-3 is bordering on sentience is beyond the pale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Let\u2019s be crystal clear here. There\u2019s nothing mysterious about GPT-3. There\u2019s nothing magical or inexplicable about what it does. If you\u2019re unsure about how it works or you\u2019ve read something somewhere that makes you believe GPT-3 is anywhere close to sentience, allow me to disillusion you of that nonsense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>GPT-3 is a machine that does one thing, and one thing only: metaphorically speaking, it reaches into a bucket and grabs a piece of paper, then it holds that paper up. That\u2019s it. It doesn\u2019t think, it doesn\u2019t spell, it doesn\u2019t care. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While the technology running it is incredible, it\u2019s really not that much more advanced than one of those self-playing pianos from the 1800s you see in cowboy <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The reason why GPT-3 <\/span><i>appears<\/i><span> capable of holding a real conversation is because, unlike a robot reaching into a physical bucket, it accesses billions of software buckets simultaneously and then it bounces all the potential outputs off of all the rules it\u2019s been trained on until it shakes one loose.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you read it and like it, it appears to be communicating with you. If you read the response and think it\u2019s stupid, the machine just looks like a dumb machine.<\/p>\n<p><span>This means that when you ask GPT-3 what it is, and it gives you a very cogent, fluid, and apt explanation for its existence that references facts about its creators and appears perfectly-tailored to answer your question as if a human wrote it, <em>it\u2019s just managed to grab a piece of paper from a bucket you like<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>GPT-3 doesn\u2019t know what a bucket is, or a piece of paper, or you, or anything. It\u2019s doing <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Clever_Hans\">the same trick that chickens and horses do<\/a> when they tap out the answers to high-level math questions: it\u2019s looking towards its owners (in this case, the AI looks to its training parameters) to see what output it should give. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If you don\u2019t believe a chicken can do algebra, you shouldn\u2019t believe GPT-3 can actually have a conversation. Again, it\u2019s prestidigitation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>My problem:<\/strong> with all that being said, it may seem like such frivolity as creating chatbot girlfriends or using GPT-3 to find catharsis after loss isn\u2019t a big deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After all, that appears to be Rohrer\u2019s biggest complaint. Per The Register\u2019s article:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201c<span>The idea that these chatbots can be dangerous seems laughable,\u201d Rohrer told The Register. \u201cPeople are consenting adults that can choose to talk to an AI for their own purposes. OpenAI is worried about users being influenced by the AI, like a machine telling them to kill themselves or tell them how to vote. It\u2019s a hyper-moral stance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Call me a dissenting opinion, because I vehemently disagree with Rohrer. It\u2019s incredibly dangerous for people whom the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> public sees as experts to continuously peddle nonsensical ideas about AI.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When Elon Musk <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/elon-musk-tesla-autopilot-60-minutes-interview\/\">shows off his Autopilot software by taking his hands off the wheel<\/a>, despite the fact that the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tesla.com\/about\/legal\">terms and conditions<\/a> clearly warn Tesla owners against this, he\u2019s telling people that the rules and regulations are just there for legal reasons. He wants people to believe his cars really can drive themselves. After all, would a billionaire trust his life with a machine what was dangerous? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The answer is yes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tesla\u2018s Autopilot and Full Self Driving features are horribly named because they cannot safely autopilot a car and Tesla vehicles are not self-driving. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/04\/18\/no-one-was-driving-in-tesla-crash-that-killed-two-men-in-spring-texas-report.html\">People keep dying<\/a> because they believe their cars are capable of technological feats they are not. The cars are fine, but Elon Musk continues to egg ignorant people into doing things they shouldn\u2019t with his flippant attitude and constant hyperbole about Tesla\u2018s actual capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The public doesn\u2019t believe journalists or academics. They believe influencers, tech moguls, billionaires, and the people telling them what they\u2019d prefer to hear about AI.<\/p>\n<p><span>And every time the general public reads an article where an \u2018expert\u2019 tries to push a magical narrative wherein AI is either already sentient or <em>almost <\/em>sentient<\/span>, they\u2019re being asked to believe that Tinkerbell is real and Disney\u2019s movies are documentaries.<\/p>\n<p><span>If the public believes AI can think, carry on real conversations, and channel the dead, what\u2019s to stop them from believing other bullshit? How many people reading these hyperbolic articles about how GPT-3 is borderline alive walk away thinking cars can safely drive themselves now or that AI is already as smart as humans?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It makes it easier for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/analyticsindiamag.com\/ai-hype-algorithms-bias-princeton-professor-talk-mi\/\">snake oil companies such as PredPol or Faception<\/a> to peddle their bullshit. And when an AI researcher tries to tell the world they\u2019ve invented gaydar AI or some other quackery, millions of people glancing over headlines will believe it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So, yes, there is a definite harm in peddling nonsense and acting as if it\u2019s important work. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s nothing special about a GPT-3 chatbot called Samantha. It\u2019s not a her, it doesn\u2019t have thoughts or feelings, it doesn\u2019t matter if (as the article states) Samantha wants you to \u201csleep with\u201d it, because it\u2019s just code on a machine somewhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Unfortunately, the general public is far less likely to read an article explaining why GPT-3 can\u2019t perform miracles than they are one claiming it can. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/gpt-3-cant-channel-dead-people\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#GPT-3 can\u2019t channel dead people&#8221; Did you know\u00a0Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021.\u00a0Secure your online ticket now! GPT-3 can\u2019t talk to dead people. It\u2019s a bit ridiculous that I have to say that, but just in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":337662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/neural?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/09\/dead-people.jpg&signature=05a1017d60c29cf1ad2574e9d7beb94d","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-337661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}