Musings
This is an archive of automation posts like the ones on the homepage. In each post, I share brief thoughts about a current automation or AI topic. I focus on insights that may be at odds with popular opinion. There are plenty of high-quality sources for automation news. My goal is not to cover every topic. My goal is to surface ideas you may not find elsewhere.
Context Beats Computation (For Now)
My feeds are inundated with AI posts. People seem caught off-guard by the latest large language models (e.g., ChatGPT) and image generators (e.g., Midjourney). How did we progress in a few years from chatbots that could barely understand simple commands to know-it-all assistants capable of explaining string theory, drafting cover letters, and telling better dad jokes than me?
Whose Line Is it Anyway?
OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public on November 30, 2022. The powerful chatbot is based on the company’s 175 billion parameter large language model, GPT-3. While the underlying AI model has been around for since 2020, the combination of a friendly interface and open access has propelled ChatGPT to the forefront of the AI conversation.
Bill(s) of Rights
Back in October, the White House unveiled an AI Bill of Rights. The document is a first step in establishing guidelines for the use of AI in the United States. It covers important topics like safety, discrimination, and privacy. My question is whether we also need a second Bill of Rights to govern how humans treat AI.
Starving Artists
The introduction of DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion this year caught artists seemingly off-guard. For years, we were told that creativity would be the final frontier for human workers. Now, we are faced with the prospect that creativity might not be what we think it is.