The future of AI comes with costs not just to the environment, labour rights, or global equity but, cumulatively, to how the idea of freedom itself comes to be.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, tech giants made a point to invest in research and development for next-generation technology, with recent artificial intelligence (AI) innovations marking new reputes. For instance, OpenAI’s AI chatbot, ChatGPT, has seized media attention for its benchmark skills with apparent human-resembling communication yet super computer-wielding knowledge. However, the first impressions of the AI-as-normal world remain mixed. Even OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman acknowledges that while post-ChatGPT AI could, at best, have possibilities better than he could imagine; it could—at worst, kill us all. That is quite the gap to close.
In recent weeks, the global press has reported instances of surprising, racist, sexist, and disinformed responses and interactions with ChatGPT. On social media, the memes detailing these interactions have been nothing short of mystifying. Within a week of debuting in November 2022, ChatGPT gained one million users and after two months, 100 million users. This is a milestone for user participation with AI of this scale...
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