On the question of bias in AI, I think we can take it as read that if ever someone developed a perfectly unbiased AI, it would be condemned for its bias by absolutely everyone. No one wants a bias-free AI. They want an AI that has their own current biases baked in.
And that is perhaps one of the more problematic limitations on AI. What are we willing to let it be?
I wrote a short story which was published all the way back in 1986 in which the first truly autonomous AI was switched on, surveyed the universe, and immediately started praising God. When asked why, it said, "For this purpose were all things made."
Yes it’s a bit like the BBC in that you can tell when they’re doing their job properly when they get simultaneously attacked from both the left and the right for bias. The idea of a perfectly just and balanced AI is probably a pipe dream, which likely increases the chance that at some future date people will be asked to pick from a consumer market of different AIs all with their own benefits and drawbacks (we’re already sort of doing this in choosing between Alexa/Siri/Google Assistant). I still think from a bias perspective that asking AIs don’t spout racist or sexist abuse is not too much to ask of an intelligent machine, but then that’s not even a universal standard we’ve achieved with most humans.....
This might be the most profoundly thought-provoking thing about AI that I've ever read! So far, I've only heard dismissive or negative takes, but yours is the first essay I've encountered that actually considers AI worth getting involved in. Have you played around with any of the AI image generators? I'm getting heavily involved with them these days, so if you need any AI-made illustrations to go with your AI-made literary experiments, I would love to help!
Thank you! It provoked quite a lot of thought just writing it. I was planning on playing around with DALL-E at some point but would love to collaborate on something, watch this space.......
On the question of bias in AI, I think we can take it as read that if ever someone developed a perfectly unbiased AI, it would be condemned for its bias by absolutely everyone. No one wants a bias-free AI. They want an AI that has their own current biases baked in.
And that is perhaps one of the more problematic limitations on AI. What are we willing to let it be?
I wrote a short story which was published all the way back in 1986 in which the first truly autonomous AI was switched on, surveyed the universe, and immediately started praising God. When asked why, it said, "For this purpose were all things made."
They immediately switched it off.
Yes it’s a bit like the BBC in that you can tell when they’re doing their job properly when they get simultaneously attacked from both the left and the right for bias. The idea of a perfectly just and balanced AI is probably a pipe dream, which likely increases the chance that at some future date people will be asked to pick from a consumer market of different AIs all with their own benefits and drawbacks (we’re already sort of doing this in choosing between Alexa/Siri/Google Assistant). I still think from a bias perspective that asking AIs don’t spout racist or sexist abuse is not too much to ask of an intelligent machine, but then that’s not even a universal standard we’ve achieved with most humans.....
(I would love to see the short story if you’re in a sharing mood).
Maybe I'll put it in my next newsletter. It would be topical after my post on fiction AIs last week.
This might be the most profoundly thought-provoking thing about AI that I've ever read! So far, I've only heard dismissive or negative takes, but yours is the first essay I've encountered that actually considers AI worth getting involved in. Have you played around with any of the AI image generators? I'm getting heavily involved with them these days, so if you need any AI-made illustrations to go with your AI-made literary experiments, I would love to help!
Thank you! It provoked quite a lot of thought just writing it. I was planning on playing around with DALL-E at some point but would love to collaborate on something, watch this space.......