It all started with the online equivalent of a sweetie from a stranger. And we all know how that story ends, children. But let’s be honest, we’ve been accepting cookies (data stored by websites about us) for years now and we still don’t know where all that cyber-tracking of our movements is going to land us.
Occasionally, I try to make a stand – not all heroes wear capes, folks – by declining them. It feels good. But more often than not, I’m immediately transferred to a panel of cookie options so dreary as to cause Millie herself to crumble.
So I just end up agreeing to all of them then – whoosh! There go my personal details faster than the speed of light to whichever malign actor wants to use them for nefarious purposes. And I probably only logged on to buy a portable sewing kit; talk about the law of unintended consequences.
Anyway, that’s data sharing explained, no thanks needed. Now onto AI. For those of us perfectly intelligent adults who find ourselves utterly infantilised when our home computer has the temerity to say no, artificial intelligence is the stuff of galaxies far, far away.
But then we all saw that AI-generated video of Trump’s Gaza this week, featuring bearded belly dancers and the president with Benjamin Netanyahu, both topless and drinking cocktails on beach loungers, and we were afraid. Very afraid.
Depending on who you ask, AI is the answer to all life’s problems or a Frankensteinian monster that will rise up and destroy mankind. Its ability to process information at great speed will obviate the need to weep over tax returns because it will do it for us. But it may also rob our thoughts and steal our creativity before subjugating us as a species, by firstly taking control of our communication network.
Anyone who has even mislaid their mobile phone for an hour will attest to the terror and dislocation of being cut off not just from Sudoku and Ocado but Google Maps, the calendar – the clock! In the new Netflix thriller Zero Day, an ex US president played by Robert de Niro is brought out of retirement to investigate a highly sophisticated cyberattack that hits the communications network. Without traffic control, lights stay in green, cars plough into one another, trains crash and planes go down.
That sounds a bit much, so let’s check with AI, shall we? Here is the response from ChatGPT: “AI could pose risks if misused or uncontrolled, but overthrowing humanity is unlikely if managed with proper regulation and ethics.” See, the word that stands out to me is “unlikely”. Unlikely. If managed properly.
Just a quick scan of the terrible news headlines reveals that the prospect of Homo sapiens putting aside their differences to manage things “properly” and save ourselves from AI Armageddon is, shall we say, unlikely.
It’s tempting to do what humanity typically does when confronted by an urgent and complex existential threat – namely bury our proverbial heads in the globally warmed sand. But that would be a mistake. And don’t think for a moment that our Government will protect us; Sir Keir is no de Niro.
In fact, he’s shamefully selling us out, undermining our global reputation and trashing our national pride. He ought to be defending our £120 billion creative industries against unethical plundering by tech companies. Instead, he is planning changes to copyright law that will make it easier for tech firms to continue “scraping” news articles, books and music available online in order to train their generative AI. No payment is made, no permission is sought.
And every day we move inexorably closer to the point when AI music will top the charts and AI-generated novels will supplant bestselling authors. What future for our world-class writers and musicians? A campaign, Make IT Fair, has been launched to lobby for protections; just this week every major newspaper in the country united to run the same front cover demanding the government stop siding with the tech giants. And more than 1,000 musicians – including Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush – released a silent album on Tuesday in protest at their work being used regardless of licence and copyright. Meanwhile Paul McCartney and Elton John have been offered a meeting with Technology Secretary Peter Kyle after they mounted objections. Let us hope they receive a fair hearing.
Back in cyberspace, I raise more concerns with AI, which admits there are “risks like job loss, privacy invasion, and misuse in surveillance or weaponry, requiring careful ethical and regulatory oversight”. Now, you may not much care if The Rocket Man’s back catalogue is hollowed out by AI but how would you feel knowing it was also hunting down the skinny on the Royal Navy’s new class of Dreadnought submarines?
Never has it been truer that information is power. The more we give away, the more AI – the companies that operate AI – will expand their knowledge base and learn about human ingenuity and human habits and further insinuate itself into our lives.
Amazon has given an AI upgrade to its virtual assistant Alexa by collaborating with Uber, OpenTable, Ticketmaster, Yelp and Whole Foods, among others. The result is that users can now ask it to book tickets, order a taxi, sort out a restaurant reservation and text a babysitter. It can also search online for a handyman who can fix an oven and contact them to book a repair.
So far the service is only available in the US. Personally, I hope it stays there. It’s one thing to feel redundant at work due to the superior skills of AI. Feeling redundant at home would be too much to bear.