This year's Tencent News Contech Conference has a new humanities chapter, focusing on "technology and the future of human society". Such philosophical issues of the times echo the deep worries and anxieties of people today about the future development.
It is an indisputable fact that we are in the age of technology. Compared to pre-industrial times, a major invention often requires a few.
10. With a history of more than 100 years, the speed of scientific and technological innovation is accelerating significantly, and the impact of technology is getting bigger and bigger. Not to mention a hundred years from now, or even ten years from now, it is difficult for us to imagine what society will look like.
Not long ago, ChatGPT became popular, through the processing and Xi of massive data, this generative AI large language model, with the ability to talk to humans autonomously, it is like a "thinker", not a cold digital brain.
The popularity of GPT, in addition to bringing the convenience of word processing, also makes many people worry about whether this kind of thoughtful, learning Xi subversive artificial intelligence will eventually replace humans, or even control and dominate human beings in turn
In the midst of OpenAI's internal power struggle, the warning letter that "a powerful artificial intelligence discovery may threaten humanity - a model known as Q*" has further amplified our anxiety, and it has made more and more people start to reflect on the risks and ethics of technology, so as to avoid opening Pandora's box like science fiction movies.
In fact, looking at the history of human scientific and technological development, the panic brought about by technological progress has never stopped.
When the train replaced the horse-drawn carriage, it brought a huge panic to the horse-drawn carriage industry. In the early days of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, there was also the "Luddite Movement" that destroyed machines out of fear of technological progress. Even the emergence of online car-hailing once alarmed the taxi industry.
Panic about new technologies is not only about losing jobs, but also about the displacements of human values, and the huge impact on the social order and structure, which brings us even more devastating risks.
Just like in the Internet era, information leakage and data security problems are always a headache, and the collapse of any national-level mobile application system will also make it difficult for people to move an inch. But in fact, we don't need to worry too much, technological progress may cause some people to lose their jobs, but it is still too early to replace people;We will become more and more dependent on machines and technology in the future, but it will not be easy for machines to dominate humans and dominate the world.
For example, AI-assisted Xi and scientific research have become a daily routine, and traditional educators will lose their usefulness?Of course not.
A teacher's main responsibility is not only to pass on knowledge, but also to communicate, exchange, and interact with students, and to teach and educate people. On the contrary, new technologies can make it easier for teachers to transfer knowledge.
As for word processing, will language models with powerful computing power replace writers, news reporters, editors, corporate secretaries and other writers?The answer is also no.
As a writer, I know very well that the process of content creation is not a simple process of organizing information, piling up information from the Internet into an article.
The process of writing itself is a process of thinking and creating, emotional and rational agitation, and behind an article, there are often independent values, which is the value of speculation. Creativity and imagination, emotional expression and humanistic care in the creative process are also unattainable by AI.
Even for a creator or thinker, after being exposed to new information and new things, he may overturn yesterday's position and form a diametrically opposed point of view. And how can machines interpret this emotional expression?
Therefore, as Professor Wu Fei, an artificial intelligence expert, said at the Tencent News Contech Conference, "AI itself will not replace people, but will be replaced if AI is not used." Embracing technology and adapting to new forms of technology, rather than panicking, may be a better way to embrace technological change.