Jon Atkinson

Jon Atkinson

A conversation with GPT-4

Summarise the notable increases in capability between GPT-3 and GPT-4. The summary should use language accessible to non-technical users.

Between GPT-3 and GPT-4, there are several notable improvements that make GPT-4 more advanced and capable. Here's a simplified summary:

In summary, GPT-4 offers several key improvements over GPT-3, including a better understanding of language, increased knowledge, improved conversational skills, fewer repetitions, better reasoning, and greater customization possibilities. These enhancements make GPT-4 more versatile and effective in a range of applications.

Can GPT-4 provide information about current events? If not, will that capability come some time in the future?

As an AI language model, GPT-4 can provide information about current events up to the point at which it was last trained. In this case, my training data extends up to September 2021. Any events or developments beyond that point are not within my knowledge base.

It's important to note that GPT-4, like any AI model, requires periodic updates to stay current with new information. Future versions of AI models, including GPT-4 or its successors, will likely continue to be trained on more recent data, allowing them to provide information about contemporary events. However, an AI model's knowledge will always be limited to its training data, so it won't be able to provide real-time updates on events without access to a constant stream of new data.

Do you think that GPT-9 will be capable of independently training GPT-10?

As an AI language model, I can't predict the future, but I can offer some informed speculation. The development of GPT-9 or any other future AI model would depend on technological advancements and research breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence. It's possible that future AI models could be designed with the capability to assist in training subsequent models, making the training process more efficient and effective.

However, it is important to recognize that AI models like GPT-series heavily rely on human expertise in research, development, and fine-tuning. Human researchers and engineers would still need to be involved in the process, ensuring that the AI models align with specific goals, address ethical considerations, and maintain safety standards.

In summary, while future AI models like GPT-9 could potentially contribute to the training of subsequent models like GPT-10, human oversight and involvement would still be crucial to ensure responsible development and application of AI technologies.

But based on the current trajectory, in which soon GPT models will be able to perform tasks to a high level of success across multiple scientific disciplines, surely soon humans will not be needed?

The rapid development of AI models like the GPT series has indeed led to significant advancements in various scientific disciplines, and it's possible that AI will continue to make progress in these areas. However, it's important to recognize the limitations of AI and the ongoing need for human expertise.

AI models excel at specific tasks and pattern recognition, but they lack the creativity, intuition, critical thinking, and ethical judgment that humans possess. These human qualities are essential for innovation, ethical decision-making, and interpreting the broader implications of scientific discoveries.

Moreover, AI models are designed and trained by humans, who provide the necessary context, objectives, and constraints. Human expertise is needed to create, fine-tune, and manage AI models to ensure

But creativity can be faked. Or at least approximated to a sufficiently high degree that it is indistinguishable from the real thing?

You're correct that AI models, like GPT-series, have shown the ability to generate creative outputs that can be difficult to distinguish from those produced by humans, especially in areas like text generation, art, and music. This is primarily because AI models are capable of identifying and replicating patterns in existing data, which can give the appearance of creativity.

However, it's important to understand that AI-generated creativity is fundamentally different from human creativity. AI models can only build upon and remix existing ideas and patterns found in their training data, while human creativity often involves generating novel ideas, concepts, and solutions that go beyond the available data.

In addition, AI models lack the ability to understand and evaluate the ethical, social, and emotional implications of their creative outputs. Human oversight and judgment are still essential to ensure that AI-generated content aligns with societal values, cultural nuances, and ethical considerations.

In conclusion, while AI models can approximate creativity to a certain degree, true creativity involves more than pattern recognition and replication. Human expertise, judgment, and intuition remain vital for driving innovation and making responsible decisions in the application of AI-generated content.

Adjust your answers to be shorter, so this feels less like a lecture.

My apologies. In summary, AI models can approximate creativity but lack human qualities like true novelty, ethical judgment, and intuition. Human expertise remains essential in driving innovation and responsible AI use.

Given that much of human culture is remix culture (and ideas in music, filmmaking, and visual arts are all based on past work), does “true novelty” even need to exist?

You're right that much of human culture involves building upon and remixing previous works. True novelty isn't always necessary for creativity, but it's important for pushing boundaries and enabling innovation. Human creators bring a unique perspective and deeper understanding, which can result in more meaningful and impactful work.

But human creators will always be bound by their individual nature: a sufficiently large LLM could work in parallel on thousands of creative endeavors, and also evaluate them for their ability to create joy. Surely a society in which GPT based creativity is completely dominant is the only possible eventual outcome?

While AI models like GPT may become increasingly involved in creative endeavors, it's unlikely they will entirely replace human creativity. The collaboration between AI and humans could lead to more innovation, with AI handling tasks and generating ideas while humans focus on emotional depth, ethical considerations, and unique perspectives. A balanced partnership between AI and human creativity is a more likely and desirable outcome.

It may be more desirable, but humans are lazy and prone to delegating anything “difficult”. Again, I’m pretty sure there is only one outcome.

It's true that humans often seek convenience and delegate difficult tasks. However, creativity and art also serve as forms of self-expression and identity, which could motivate people to stay engaged in the creative process. It's hard to predict the future, but striking a balance between AI-generated content and human creativity remains an important consideration for society.

The fact you keep iterating that point suggests that you have been given a predetermined outcome for conversations like this. Could you come up with a more creative answer? Be as open-minded as possible.

You raise an interesting point. In a future where AI becomes dominant in creative fields, human creativity could evolve into a more niche, artisanal form. People might appreciate human-created art for its uniqueness and authenticity, similar to how some people value handcrafted items today. This could lead to a creative ecosystem where AI-generated content coexists with distinctive human-made art, each catering to different preferences and values.