Dream Machines

The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype

- NAVNEET ALANG

IN ARTHUR C. CLARKE's famous short story "The Nine Billion Names of God," a sect of monks in Tibet believes humanity has a divinely inspired purpose: inscribing all the various names of God. Once the list was complete, they thought, He would bring the universe to an end. Having worked at it by hand for centuries, the monks decide to employ some modern technology. Two skeptical engineers arrive in the Himalayas, powerful computers in tow. Instead of 15,000 years to write out all the permutations of God's name, the job gets done in three months. As the engineers ride ponies down the mountainside, Clarke's tale ends with one of literature's most economical final lines: "Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out."

It is an image of the computer as a shortcut to objectivity or ultimate meaning which also happens to be, at least part of what now animates the fascination with artificial intelligence. Though the technologies that underpin AI have existed for some time, it's only since late 2022, with the emergence of OpenAI's ChatGPT, that the technology that approached intelligence appeared to be much closer. In a 2023 report by Microsoft Canada, president Chris Barry proclaims that "the era of AI is here, ushering in a transformative wave with potential to touch every facet of our lives," and that "it is not just a technological advancement; it is a societal shift that is propelling us into a future where innovation takes centre stage." That is among the more level-headed reactions. Artists and writers are panicking that they will be made obsolete, governments are scrambling to catch up and regulate, and academics are debating furiously.