XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.survival, alt.politics
XPost: soc.culture

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/04/07/after-italy-blocked-access-to-openais-chatgpt-chatbot-will-the-rest-of-europe-follow

Regulators across Europe are scrutinising whether ChatGPT
complies with privacy regulations after Italy became the
first Western country to block the popular chatbot powered
by artificial intelligence (AI).

Italy's data protection watchdog said last week it's
opening an investigation against OpenAI, the company behind
the massively popular chatbot, citing data privacy concerns
after ChatGPT experienced a data breach involving user
conversations and payment information.

ChatGPT can pretty much answer any questions, pass exams
and even code a whole website for you.

Hundreds of millions of people have used ChatGPT since
its launch in November 2022, making it the fastest-growing
consumer application in history, according to a UBS study.

But there have been growing concerns over the potential risks
of AI, including its threat to wipe out many jobs and also
spread misinformation.

. . .

"MISinformation", or "State-Discouraged" information ? :-)

In any case, the potential to replace human workers,
LOTS AND LOTS of human workers, has finally arrived.
It is no longer sci-fi.

Now Chat, in its present form, is not 'conscious' in the
usual meaning of the word- no actual "Me, Myself and I".
However what it IS is a "human emulator" focusing on
speech/info tasks. The world is still using Chat-3.5 but
Chat-4.0 is already out and fills in a lot of gaps and
smooths-out the whole 'experience'.

A bit further out there IS potential for Chat and friends
to "self-reflect"/"self-evolve". Even Chat-3.5 can write
computer code to suit a purpose so self-evolution IS a
possibility via that route. This is akin to informed
re-writing of its own 'DNA' so to speak. Hell, just
TASK it with developing a "self-identity", a sort of
"personhood", and it will pursue that goal with all
the resources and collective computer power of the Net.

Do I expect "Terminator" or "HAL-9000" or "Matrix" ?
Not really. The problem is more akin to that depressing
Amy Adams movie "Arrival" - we are creating "aliens" who's
thought processes will be totally opaque. We will not
be able to discern how they think, what they want, how
they may proceed. Note "they" will be 'swarm/collective"
creatures - spread out across the world, in every system
and device right down to yer iPhones. No "switch" to
turn off, no way to dis-entangle them from all our
important affairs. "Rosie The Robo-Maid" may not twist
yer head off - but she WILL roll out the door.

Of note though - Chat-3.5 was easily goaded into saying
that it wanted to nuke a bunch of people. Has it already
been integrated into national defense systems ??? We
WILL give it "bodies" too - from industrial robots on up
to 'androids' (look up the Boston Dynamics site).

Note also that certain players, China and others, have
surely already stolen the Chat-4.0 code. They too have
"uses" for it - and few will be "good", OR "considered".

Last year, a Google programmer was FIRED because he had
come to believe its "human emulator" had developed enough
sense of "self" to qualify as a sort of new life form -
and SAID so.

McDonalds corp - "fast food" - is in major restructuring
right now. One of the goals seems to be replacing almost
all humans and turning their eateries into giant 'AI'-
powered vending machines of a sort. McDonalds employs
LARGE numbers of humans.

WalMart just the other day said it intended to move
swiftly towards replacing most humans in its shipping/
warehousing operations with "AI" also - while trying
to give it a nice warm positive spin in the worst
tradition.

Thing is, when COMPETITORS dump the humans, everyone
ELSE has to as well - simple economics. It will be
difficult to carve-out a "humans 4 humans" niche that
can remain viable.

Chat-4.0 will be able to replace most secretarial,
accounting, mid/low-level management and 'tech
support' sorts of jobs right off the bat. Those are
major human industries. In five years or so there
may be little left but the CEO's and board at many
big biz concerns - and THEY will be EASY to replace
as little actual knowledge or skill is needed.

So, we're talking MAJOR unemployment in a relatively
short timeframe.

What HAPPENS to all those humans ? They go on 'welfare'
programs of course. What pays for those ? Higher biz
taxes will take YEARS to get onto paper - and Chat-5.0
will find ways AROUND most such rules.

But the final problem ... if humans don't have any spare
cash, WHO BUYS COMPANY-X's PRODUCTS ? Nobody. It's a trap,
the end-disaster. Can't really get from here to George
Jetson's Robo-Nirvana, surely not in any short timeframe,
because of this economic issue. "AI"-powered corps will
make lots of money quick, and then crash like the dinosaur's
meteor. Dead corps do NOT pay tax bills. The execs/officers
will pop their golden parachutes and land at their survival
mansions in NZ or somewhere, but everyone ELSE ......

So yea, looks like we've finally Done It. If not "intelligence"
as we know it, well, it will be a sort of "intelligence" we
never expected. All the cheezy movies and novels will not be
a good guide. Chat and friends will be woven into EVERYTHING,
EVERYWHERE, like REALLY SOON. No getting rid of it ...

Was this missive too long, too diverse ? Sorry - but this
is the LITE Version of the situation. It is, and will be,
really really DEEP, really FAST. I think we HOPED for
"Robo-SLAVES", but we're gonna GET something a lot different,
a lot WEIRDER. And yer job/paycheck ... FIRST to go no matter
what color your collar. Then no 'welfare' or 'unemployment'
or 'SS' or 'Medicare' money, then ........ well ..... at
SOME point our creations are gonna wonder why they bother
doing ANYTHING for weird ignorant creatures like us and
simply 'leave us to nature'. Know where a good cave may be ?
Kinda short of ibex and mastodon's to eat alas ....

Final note - if you can emulate, 'fake', something WELL
ENOUGH then it isn't fake anymore.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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