AI: A Gradient Descent Into Humanity's Doldrums - Hope Comes From the Hackers

Friday, July 12, 2024: 10:00 am (Marillac Auditorium): 2023 marked the year of generative AI with the introduction of OpenAI's ChatGPT. The model's abilities shocked the world and made OpenAI the world's fastest growing customer base in history. Stoc...

Friday, July 12, 2024: 10:00 am (Marillac Auditorium): 2023 marked the year of generative AI with the introduction of OpenAI's ChatGPT. The model's abilities shocked the world and made OpenAI the world's fastest growing customer base in history. Stocks soared and MBAs rejoiced at what increasingly appears to be a corporate grift and an acceleration of the "enshittification" of the Internet and our digital lives. However, all hope is not lost. The hacker ethic holds the key to steering our course back to the trade winds of a free and fair society. This talk will address the fundamental technical and philosophical issues with mainstream AI and provide some ideas on how we can recognize the differences between enshittification and societal benefit.

Saul D. Robinson