The Dark Origins of Chat-GPT
Be Careful With Your Tools
Seneca tells his friend a story of the first man to use Chat-GPT! Impossible, you say… well of course we’re taking about the beta version.
The Origin of Chat-GPT circa 20 A.D
The man is successful but his mind is not as sharp as it once was. He forgets the names of his old teachers, the names of poets and other famous thinkers. Despite his intellect dulling, he wants to keep spending time with bright people and have intellectual conversations. Thus he creates the first Chat-GPT.
The beta version was a just a slew of slaves each chosen to study exclusively one great poet or thinker each. Each slave became an encyclopedia on their given poet, requiring just a verbal prompt to spit out a fitting passage or lesson with the proper citation.
The man hosts dinner and halfway through his sentences turns to his slaves beside him, whispers, and then returns to conversation with a quote from a great thinker. He thinks he’s solved his problem.
Then one guest after subtly poking at the system the man has put together, shoots at his armor. He suggests the man take up wrestling in his old age. Our host responds that he could hardly live day to day, so no chance he could wrestle. The pushy guest counters that the host has many slaves in perfect health. So he can start wrestling today.
If the host can outsource his brain, why not outsource his body too. Having slaves wrestle for you and saying “I wrestle” sounds absurd. But for some reason it sounds less absurd for our brains.
Throughout human history, we have outsourced parts of ourselves to tools. We gave up some digestive functions as we evolved with fire. We fought with fists less as weapons got better. We outsource math to calculators. In each case, our capabilities as a group improve. But what happens when the tools try to replace our brains?
Using Tools To Improve, Not Replace Ourselves
Today, we all have an infinite army of slaves trained on every topic imaginable. We call it Chat-GPT, or even more basic, the internet. And this is only the beginning. AI will only continue to exponentially improve in quality and ease of use. How can we prepare for that? How do we avoid letting our tools replace us?
We must remember each tool has a time and place. And it is up to us to make sure our tools help us become better, not worse. The same tools for writing look silly for conversing. Using a friend who wrestles to spar and improve your own wrestling is appropriate. Sending them to fight in your name is silly. We must treat more tools like this.
I believe we’re entering a time where new tools with capabilities we never imagined possible will come out regularly. It’s up to us to find the proper use for our tools. To use the tools to improve ourselves, not replace ourselves.
Question of The Day
What new tool has really surprised you? What tool do you use way too much?
Your Biggest Fan,
Noah “BigNerd” Sochaczevski