Posted by Here’s the link: Demystifying AI taster.
I officially started my mission to demystify AI about three years ago, back in 2023. I attended an online talk where the speaker confidently told 90 people that ChatGPT was evolving so fast, it would soon “start breeding robots.”
The kicker? This wasn’t even a talk about tech—it was a talk about climate change!
I sat there thinking, ‘Just a minute… what on earth are you on about?’
So, I did what any sensible person would do: I dropped a message in the chat box telling everyone the speaker was completely wrong. After all, I’ve been working in AI since 1993.
Looking back, that was dreadful – interrupting wasn’t the best way to handle it. But to be fair, I was just coming out of lockdown and I’d entirely forgotten my social skills.
The Shut Down
It gets worse. When she opened the floor to questions, I just couldn’t help myself. OMG!
I put my hand up and said: Hi, as I was saying in the chat. I totally disagree…
I got completely shut down, told to shut up, and was immediately DM’d by the organiser to be quiet as AI is off topic. Definitely not my finest hour! After that, I was repeatedly told: ‘Ruth, you’re not allowed to talk about AI.’
But when people tell me to shut up about a subject I have studied for decades, while others run around claiming ChatGPT is breeding robots… that’s exactly when I need to start talking.
Stepping Up (And Feeling the Fear)
Which brings me to today.
I have just finished doing my very first Live video on Facebook.
I had to do it on my personal account as my new Facebook page is not old enough to let me do lives. It’s about two-weeks-old. A page has to be 90 days or more before its creator can be let loose on the live.
I switched over to my ‘normal’ a/c and took a deep breath, then pressed Go Live and wandered about outside in the sunshine (wearing big headphones to act as a microphone, as my panda lapel causes feedback) feeling incredibly self-conscious. It’s one thing to lecture in a university hall in front of students who have intentionally decided to be there, and another altogether to wander about outside talking to my phone and waiting for people to tune in.
I did it though, because the message matters.
The plain truth: AI is not taking over anytime soon. It is a confident parrot. It is predictive text on steroids. It cannot build or breed robots. This is not a sci-fi film. There’s no Arnie Terminator!
I didn’t just jump on this trend a couple of years ago either and I am not getting my info from no where. I began in 1993. I have a PhD in AI, a decade of university lecturing under my belt, and I once represented Switzerland for technological innovation with AI software, a colleague and I wrote together.
Trust me on this: the robots aren’t breeding.
Inside the “Confident Parrot”
So how does it actually work? It all comes down to statistics and probability. That’s it.
The system looks at the words you’ve typed, calculates the mathematical probability of which word should come next based on its training data, and does it incredibly well.
Multi-billion dollar companies put clever, conversational “wrappers” around these systems to make them sound friendly, empathetic, and human. But it isn’t human. It doesn’t ‘think’ and it doesn’t understand a single word it says. It is simply a massive predicting machine.
Join Me Live (For Free!)
I’m just getting warmed up, and Ruth is going to talk about AI. I’ve got plenty more to say about how this technology actually works and what it really means for you.
If you want to cut through the hype with me, I’m hosting a couple of free Zoom Lives on Eventbrite over the next week. Grab a ticket!
Here’s the link: Demystifying AI taster.
In the mean time I will be doing more daily walking-talking AI with Ruth on Facebook and YouTube as I have plenty to say. And, I have watched all the videos on creating catchy thumbnails so there’ll be a lot of dodgy visuals like the one at the top of this blog. Apparently, they are the ones that stop the scrolling!
Here are my daily walking-talking links:
Facebook: AI Co-Creators, London
YouTube: @planetstalker
I am having so much fun. Come join me live, ask me questions, and let us Demystify AI together.