AI creating virtual friends

Free Thinker *

If you don’t have a friend (male or female) you can have one by using AI. Artificial intelligence can create a virtual friend of any gender in no time – you have to just give instructions about the looks, features, nature, voice, skin color, behavior, etc. Just try it and enjoy. Don’t blame the capable AI tool for this adventure.

At present, the AI revolution is taking place everywhere and this will drastically change the future of human civilization. The fear is whether AI will take control of the centrality of humankind. In comparison with AI, humans are already lagging in terms of data storage, analysis, and application.

Only in the creativity part humans do have the edge – but here too, if creativity is based on available sources, machines are doing better. Only absolute abstract thinking or data-less creativity remains beyond AI.

Still, AI can do a lot of things; the younger generation may like to use it in their beneficial ways – like, doing homework, writing a poem, or an essay, preparing a write-up, or even creating a virtual companion. AI can even prepare your Ph.D. thesis, write exams, create images, and perform all kinds of assessments and calculations. It has taken over many of our human abilities.

Since its launch in Nov. 2020, ChatGPT has made the world crazy. The latest version ChatGPT-4, introduced in March 2023 has made the world crazier. AI will certainly make our world topsy-turvy. “It is high-tech plagiarism and a way of avoiding learning. Students using high technology to avoid learning is a sign that the educational system is failing” (Noam Chomsky).

These days we are having AI news readers across the world. This initiative was started in Russia and China. Even in Bharat also these days we have IA news anchors in English, Tamil, Odia, Telugu etc. They are doing their jobs pretty well.

A few days back Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit was held in Delhi under the able leadership of our Hon. Prime Minister. The Government of Bharat wants to make the country an AI hub.

We all know the unlimited avenues and opportunities that AI can provide. The only apprehension is whether AI will eliminate human jobs and reduce human employability thereby harming the economy. In any case, we can’t stop the emerging technology. Rather we should try to be among the top few countries or companies that promote and exploit AI.

Of course, we must be careful while using this new technology. When the Industrial Revolution took place people were apprehensive about large-scale unemployment. Again when the computers arrived people talked about job loss and massive unemployment. Neither the industrial revolution nor the computer revolution killed human employment rather, these created more jobs in the world.

In the field of agriculture too, the farmers were very scared about the possible repercussions of mechanization in agriculture. The tractors, harvesters, water pumps, thrashers, etc., might have reduced human labor.

But, on the contrary, human employability increases in some other forms – for instance in (agricultural) machine-manufacturing or repairing or marketing, processing, packaging, and transportation of agricultural products.

The danger of AI is hovering around. One may attack any internet-based system using AI. Banks can be looted using AI technology. AI can do a lot of manipulations and mischief on the internet. In fact, AI is going to dictate the world.

Advanced countries including Bharat are investing billions on AI. In addition, multinational companies and billionaires are investing a huge amount of money in the propagation of more sophisticated AIs.

During the Cold War era, top countries were competing to have more nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). Today the competition is in the field of AI. The nuclear arms race was replaced by computer-internet competition and now the AI race has begun. If we don’t have a global moratorium to restrict AI proliferation and its use, human civilization is in deep trouble.

A few years back a dialogue was hosted by the Vatican, in Rome, to inject an ethical approach to the development and use of artificial intelligence. Scientists, technocrats, multinational managers, and religious men sat together and discussed the frontiers of AI. It was vociferously raised by the Vatican representatives that ethics and morality should go hand in hand with algorithms.

The dialogue was a kind of imposing a sense of responsibility on the governments, multinationals, international institutions, and organizations, private parties to retain human centrality, values, and ethics in the realm of AI too.

Deepfake controversies are reported from various places involving celebrities and film stars. A recent study conducted by a credible agency shows that the use of AI(website) to undress people virtually - especially actresses - received millions of visitors.

That means the creation of objectionable films using deepfake images seems like virtual reality. Who will control such obnoxious activities? “It is a catastrophic risk…..and it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to rein in the most dangerous potential of AI” (Yuval Noah Harari).

So, it is high time to globally enact laws to safeguard human values and interests against AI intrusions. However, having a virtual friend is still acceptable.