A.I.
Is this the next revolution?
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Thank-you, Dave.
It seems that almost everyone is talking about A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) and Chat GTP (Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer) as being both feared and revered. Some say it will revolutionize the way we think, say and do everything. The "Deep Fake" and "Virtual Reality" worlds will be possible through blockchain technology, and will become part of our world as much if not more than the internet is now. Some say that it is the old nightmare of robots taking over the world, becoming reality - and if we don't stop it or regulate it right now, it will destroy mankind. How promising is this new technology and will it change the lives of humanity for good, or will it ultimately become the creation that destroys life as we understand it?
How real is fake?
I honestly know very little about A.I., at least the way that it is being hailed as the "next big thing", in mainstream media. I have known for a very long time that blockchain technology will eventually change everything we know about our world, but predicting what will be some of the first life-altering technologies to do this, is anyone's guess.
Most people are aware of, or at least know a little bit about crypto-currency. Some believe that digital currency is here to stay and that fiat currency will ultimately be phased out. In many ways, we have already been using digital currency for many decades. Namely, Credit cards and Bank/Debit cards. If you are old enough to remember, there was once a time when nearly everything about our basic economic “buy and sell” system came in the form of cash or check payments. Times have changed and almost everything we purchase now is paid with some sort of digital currency.
The third revolution.
It has been known for a long time that Blockchain technology will one day become the third revolution to change everything we know about life. The advent of the home computers and personal cell phones was the first revolution that changed the world. That was over twenty years ago.
The second revolution was the advent of social media. We simply cannot imagine our lives without either of these technologies. Blockchain technology, crypto-currency and A.I. are all part of the next revolution. Like the first two revolutions, they were unstoppable. This third revolution will also be unstoppable. Remember, technology never moves backwards.
For the past few months, social media has been inundated with A.I. generated fake memes and pictures that are so convincing that it is nearly impossible to discern whether they are real or fake. The latest trend seems to be pointing towards fake music. Even though this version of A.I. is still very much in its infancy stages, it is already proving just how amazing this next technology will be.
But how much of fake A.I generated media will be accepted as normal? People have been talking for years about being able to recognize a picture that has been "photo-shopped". A.I. generated pictures will be virtually undetectable. Imagine a world where everything you see on video is A.I. generated. Imagine that the people you see on your TV doing the nightly news telling you about the top stories of the world, are completely A.I. generated. They look perfect, speak perfectly and make no verbal errors. Everything they say comes from A.I. generated voices. None of it will be real, but it will look and seem so real that you will not be able to tell the difference. This is the part that is alarming.
What about music?
This part of it is still a bit unclear to me. Fake music is now being emulated to sound so real that it is already becoming the latest trend. It is so amazing that you would swear that the music is coming from a real artist or musician. Imagine the eventual disappearance and replacement of real working, practicing musicians and artists, in all genres. Imagine A.I. creating fake musicians that look and sound so real, that the need to pay real artists, will no longer be an issue. Would you pay hundreds of dollars to see a fake version of Taylor Swift in a stadium?
Organic need.
I have thought about this, and I really have a difficult time believing that the need for real people performing real music on real instruments and singing real songs with real vocals, could ever disappear. I think that the need for the interaction with real musicians and artists who perform on live stages and in coffee houses, is something that has always been very human. But, could that human also be replaced? Humans need to see, think, feel and absorb natural, organic things. Humans need to touch and experience other humans.
As an acoustic guitar player, it is very difficult for me to understand or believe that A.I. could ever do exactly what I do, with nearly 50 years of feel, knowledge and experience I put into the way that I play the guitar - and have all of it be completely fake and undetectable. How much more complex is the human brain and human condition in comparison to A.I? Will the day come when humans are no longer the most intelligent creatures on planet Earth?
Maybe several years into the future after I am long gone, A.I. robots will walk among us as humanoids or androids; and we simply won't be able to tell the difference. Imagine a world where human airline pilots and flight crews no longer exist. Imagine airports that use A.I. robots as air traffic control and ground control. Imagine airports that no longer employ people and everything is completely A.I.
I guess that it is entirely possible to think that the generations to come, many years from now, will know and adapt this "A.I." world as normal; and what we now perceive as normal will be thought of as limited and antiquated thinking.
I would love to know your views on this subject. Please comment below and share your thoughts.
Thanks, Dave.