Generative AI

And the History of Technology Panics

You might not know the term “generative AI,” but you’ve probably experienced it. Generative AI refers to an algorithm acting as a creator, crafting songs, paintings, photos, study guides, or other content. The upside? This tech can make art and education more accessible and can even preserve cultural gems. But there are concerns too, like the creation of fake videos (also known as deepfakes), the threat to jobs currently held by humans, and the question of who owns the AI-made content. This push-pull reaction to new tech isn’t unique to this moment. Consider the printing press: maybe you heard that not everyone was a fan. And remember how some believed the internet would destroy society? (Maybe the jury is still out on that one?) Our relationship with generative AI has a lot of these same vibes. Today, I’m here to guide you through the ins and outs.

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI falls under the broader umbrella of artificial intelligence, tailored to craft new content. It’s akin to a digital artist, writer, or composer, capable of fashioning original pieces. This AI absorbs patterns, styles, and structures from extensive data, leveraging this knowledge to forge entirely new creations.

Take, for instance, AI-generated paintings or machine-composed music. A notable example is the AI’s ability to conjure lifelike yet fictitious human images. These “individuals” are fabrications, spawned from analyzing numerous real photographs. Similarly, AI can pen poems or narratives by digesting vast literary archives. Although it emulates human ingenuity, it operates on previously absorbed patterns and data.

Potential Benefits of Generative AI

Democratizing Art and Creativity. Generative AI has the power to level the playing field, granting individuals who lack the chance or time to develop specific artistic skills the ability to generate content. Imagine a young woman in a small, economically challenged rural town. She’s always been immersed in stories and music, but mastering an instrument or spending years perfecting painting wasn’t feasible. Thanks to generative AI, she can now compose a song or create a digital mural that captures her community’s essence. This transformative technology empowers everyone to express creativity and share stories, making an especially meaningful impact on marginalized communities.

Advancing Accessibility and Education. The potential of generative AI extends to accessibility and education. Innovative assistive tools are emerging from generative models. Envision an AI that generates instant descriptive text for images, aiding the visually impaired, or provides sign language interpretations for videos. In areas lacking educational resources, generative AI’s ability to tailor content to individual needs can bridge gaps in education.

Revitalizing Cultural Heritage. Generative AI could play a role in preserving and revitalizing cultural heritage in art, music, and language. Consider the latter. Have you ever thought about reading breaking news in Navajo? Google Translate doesn’t accommodate that language, so I enlisted ChatGPT to summarize this news story about Donald Trump’s recent mug shot in Navajo.

Thursday biishii Donald Trump, shádiʼááhózhǫǫgi Fulton County Jail yee hoolǫ́ǫgi. Hónááná kéyah dah yiltsaastiinígi Trump tłʼiish yee hónááná daaztsaastiiní. District Attorney Fani Willis daaztsaas yee dahoolǫ́ǫhígi, 2020 Georgia biiʼ yázhí election yee dah hoolǫ́ǫgi, Trump yee hoolǫ́ǫhígi kéyah dah yiltsaastiinígi bił hazʼááná. $200,000 bond yee yitsaago, shil hózhǫ́ǫgi yee dah hoolǫ́ǫhígi, New Jersey yee dah yiltsaastiinígi.

I do not know if this is accurate. Even if it is, I suspect that it might be rough and imperfect. Nonetheless, this capability of generative AI could be a tool worth exploring in the effort to preserve languages.

Potential Dangers of Generative AI

Representation, Cultural Appropriation, and Artistic Credit. If trained predominantly on white, western artworks, an AI might produce art that inadequately represents diverse cultures, thereby marginalizing them. Additionally, the AI’s indiscriminate mixing of cultural elements could result in unintentional appropriation, like using Native American patterns for casual fashion designs. Moreover, as AI-produced content becomes more prevalent, questions arise about copyrights, intellectual property, and where human creativity starts and ends. For instance, should a popular AI-generated piece of music receive the same artistic recognition as the work of a human composer?

Economic Concerns and Digital Gaps. The rise of generative AI brings with it some hefty concerns regarding jobs in creative fields. As AI begins to produce music or artwork, questions arise about the future roles of human artists. Additionally, there’s a significant gap in terms of who can access these AI tools. Factors such as living in a big city versus a small town, financial background, or even internet quality can significantly impact one’s ability to use this technology. If we intend to utilize generative AI, it’s crucial that we address these disparities and ensure everyone has a fair opportunity to benefit from AI advancements.

Misinformation, Accountability, and Ethics. The potential of generative AI to churn out realistic yet entirely fictitious content can be, well, scary. Deepfakes, which might make public figures appear to say or do things they didn’t, exemplify the risk of AI-generated misinformation. If a generative AI produces harmful or controversial content, who is responsible? The developers, the users, or the AI? Establishing ethical guidelines and accountability structures is critical.

Data Privacy. We need to raise privacy alarms. For example, if an AI system creates portraits, there’s the potential danger of it misusing personal photos sourced from the internet, leading to unauthorized reproductions.

Technology Panics

Groundbreaking technological advancements have often been met with a cocktail of amazement, skepticism, and sometimes, outright fear. This pattern of “technology panic” should, at this point, be familiar to us.

Take Gutenberg’s 15th-century printing press. While it radically democratized information dissemination, it also sparked fears among the elite about the unchecked spread of ideas. Leap to the 19th century, and the rail boom similarly garnered a mix of reactions. As railroads began to connect far-flung locations, there was concern about whether the human body could endure travel at such “breakneck” speeds. Really! Concurrently, the introduction of the telegraph, with its promise of instantaneous communication, led to worries about potential information deluges and a reduction in the quality of interpersonal interactions.

Fast-forward to the 20th century, with the advent of radio and television. Critics expressed concerns about their effects, particularly on the younger generation. Moving into the 21st century, the rise of the internet and social media has proven to be a double-edged sword. These platforms have fostered global connectivity like never before. But they’ve also birthed fears over privacy breaches, the dark alleys of online harassment, mounting mental health issues, the rapid spread of misinformation, and yes, more concerns about eroding real-world social interactions.

Conclusion

Generative AI, with its wide-ranging capabilities spanning imaging, melodies, and prose, stands alongside the long list of other technologies that have evoked a mix of excitement (look at all the things we can do now!) and concern (what about deepfakes? what about our jobs?). As has been the case with previous technological shifts, the challenges posed by generative AI encompass genuine concerns, some misconceptions, and an innate human unease with transformative change. Navigating the balance between these concerns and the promise of the technology remains one of the defining tasks of our times.

Your neighbor,

Chad