![Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype](https://cdn.magzter.com/1470409556/1717449174/articles/mpkA9pAuF1719486535433/OpenAI-Chatgpt-Chris-Barry-Sam-Altman-tech-Silicon-Valley-startups-technology-AI-tools-AI-Artificial-intelligence-ChatGPT-Microsoft-Copilot-Generative-AI-Midjourney-content-creators-Al-powered-Science.jpg)
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.
Denne historien er fra July/August 2024-utgaven av The Walrus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July/August 2024-utgaven av The Walrus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/mpkA9pAuF1719486535433/crp_OpenAI-Chatgpt-Chris-Barry-Sam-Altman-tech-Silicon-Valley-startups-technology-AI-tools-AI-Artificial-intelligence-ChatGPT-Microsoft-Copilot-Generative-AI-Midjourney-content-creators-Al-powered-Science.jpg)
Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Some of the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet, are throwing their full weight behind AI. On top of the billions spent by big tech, funding for AI startups hit nearly $50 billion (US) in 2023.
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/Mod6s8Lph1721739600875/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
MY CHILDREN are grown, with their own partners, their own lives.
![The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/Aw4StcOcH1721739445375/THE-QUEST-TO-DECODE-VERMEERS-TRUE-COLOURS.jpg)
The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours
New techniques reveal hidden details in the Dutch master’s paintings
![Repeat after Me](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/UwV2J4dzF1721739190466/REPEAT-AFTER-ME.jpg)
Repeat after Me
TikTok and Instagram are helping to bring Indigenous languages back from the brink
![Smokehouse](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/zuS-yLypW1721738756152/SMOKEHOUSE.jpg)
Smokehouse
I WAS STANDING THERE at the corner, the corner where the smaller street intersects with the slightly wider one.
![How Could They Just Lose Him?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/50Fz0bOB01721738303312/HOW-COULD-THEY-JUST-LOSE-HIM.jpg)
How Could They Just Lose Him?
The Huronia Regional Centre was supposed to be a safe home for people with disabilities. Then, amid suspicions of abuse at the facility, twenty-one-year-old Robin Windross vanished without a trace
![Prairie Radical](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/O10U1A6Fl1721737787210/PRAIRIE-RADICAL.jpg)
Prairie Radical
How conspiracy theorists splintered a small town
![Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/etJ_NxrdD1721737419838/EENY-MEENY-MINY-MOE.jpg)
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
Scott Moe rose quietly through the ranks. Now the Saskatchewan premier and his party are shaping policies with national consequences
![The Accommodation Problem](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/-nsjnqoWl1721736301032/THE-ACCOMMODATION-PROBLEM.jpg)
The Accommodation Problem
Extensions. Extra exam time. Online everything. Addressing the complex needs of students is creating chaos on campus
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/ZjBpzYG4o1719492279999/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.