Magic in the space between

OpenAI released their DaVinci version 3 model of GTP-3, which is far more sophisticated than previous versions. It's able to handle complex requests and demonstrate more reliable reasoning capabilities. Along with this, comes the release of ChatGPT, a version oriented towards ongoing conversations.

ChatGPT is an incredibly adroit technology, able to generate very sophisticated responses to difficult technical or abstract questions in a wide range of languages, at a university level.

The chat interface also enables refinement of responses. Rather than having to carefully design a prompt to elicit a response, one can make progressively iterations towards a preferred outcome. One can even ask it to imagine a scene, and then take that as a prompt for an image diffusion model such as DALL-E/Midjourney/Dream Studio.

ChatGPT is also able to learn from past interactions with oneself, to better interpret one's instructions. It's also actively learning from other interactions – already in the 48 hours or so since its release it's become more robust. The chat interface also encourages a dialectic discussion that creates something more than the sum of its parts in the space between interlocutors, and actually feels more like a ‘relationship’.

This is an incredibly capable AI system, and a taster of what's expected in the upcoming release of a massive, multimodal GPT-4 (text, images, video, 3D models). Conversations will then be illustrated with various kinds of content and demonstrations.

There is no sign of an AI winter. On the contrary, the disruptive effects of AI is now manifest. Already, as of this week, homework and assignments are essentially meaningless. Any assignment at any level can be trivially answered by ChatGPT, fitting answers according to the scoring rubric.

It will be extremely challenging for educators to respond to this, and we can expect coursework to be replaced by carefully invigilated exams instead which test direct personal knowledge and capabilities. The value of homework has always been questionable anyhow, and these technologies offer an instant Aristotle in one's pocket, able to expertly explain any topic at an appropriate level, transforming education and offering practical homeschooling for all, whilst providing opportunities to teach how to deconstruct content.

Very soon technologies such as ChatGPT will be wired into Siri and Alexa, enabling ongoing fascinating and funny conversations with agents. At that point the general public will finally understand the incredible advancements in the past year or two. The moment that AI starts to ask people how their day went, and how's their mom's lumbago, and follow-up a few days later, all through a voice interface, there will be a massive laundry bill society-wide.

This will result in a Sputnik Moment of existential terror, as well as a moral panic about the use and misuse of AI, which will in turn lead to questionable heavy-handed and poorly-constructed regulatory responses.

The impact of these technologies on working life will also be profound, affecting not only clerical, admin, and beancounting work, but also being devastating for creative industries such as artists, models, and musicians.

The only way to survive the future is to prepare for it, so maybe play around with ChatGPT today.