It’s hard to open any news source anymore without some article or pronouncement about the utility or dangers of artificial intelligence.
Just this morning I read two articles that passed on some fascinating information about AI. One article explained how AI had just verified a proof that had earned a Ukrainian mathematician a Fields medal, one of the most prestigious prizes in math. AI verified a proof of a higher-dimensional “sphere-packing” problem, which asks how many spheres you can cram into spaces of eight and 24 dimensions.
Frankly, being math challenged, I had no idea there was a “sphere packing” issue that needed to be resolved mathematically, by a fellow human being or by a digital computer program. When my kid was playing soccer, and it was time to load soccer balls in the car, one just crammed as many balls as humanly possible into a mesh bag, declared victory, and headed to the soccer field. Also, all those billiard balls always seemed to fit perfectly in the little triangle provided to rack them up. No math involved; no problem.
Then, there was another article that did not bode well for AI. Basically, AI programs engage in “deep learning”—that is they are programed to teach themselves by reading everything that is published on a particular subject. I.e. they read more than a human can and, hence, supposedly, are smarter.
The problem is; however, it seems that popular AI chatbots often fail to recognize false health claims when they’re delivered in confident, medical-sounding language, thus leading to dubious advice that could be dangerous to the general public.
For example, and I’m not making this up, recommending that people insert garlic cloves into their butts for immune support.
Now, it’s really not hard to figure that one out. Presumably the chatbot (or chatbutt, as the case may be) was reading all the medical myths, metaphors and moral judgments coming out of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s Department of Health and Human services. That’s the Trump Cabinet position and it’s leader which is responsible for public health, and overseeing agencies like the CDC, FDA, and NIH, with a focus on addressing chronic disease and improving public health. In that context sticking garlic cloves up your rear end makes perfect sense, as that is the appropriate place for all of RFK’s medical advice.
Still. And while I’m no math whiz, I can see the benefits these AI programs. At least when I’m sticking garlic cloves where the sun don’t shine, I can consult the sphere packing AI program to determine how many garlics I can get up there.
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