5 Big Ideas #8: Chatbots: Trust, But Verify, Safetyism on the Rise, Time and The Present Moment, Exceptional Quality, Signs in the Stars
I.
Chatbots: Trust, But Verify
If you haven’t begun messing around with AI chatbots, you’re missing out. I use Chat-GPT and Bard daily and am astonished by 95% of their responses. After several months of using these tools, I have a few recommendations for new and prospective users:
- Always consult both: Never rely on just one chatbot for your inquiries. Chat-GPT and Bard utilize different Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate their responses, and the response structure varies significantly. They can even produce contradictory answers.
- Phrase your question in different ways: Interacting with a chatbot vastly differs from search querying. Striking up a conversation with a chatbot requires asking clear and thorough questions. This comes with switching costs and will require some practice.
- Require additional information: The overly confident demeanor of these chatbots can be misleading. Don’t get tricked by the cockiness of this software; their responses need to be self-asserting so they can impress their shareholders. Ask detailed follow-up questions and, if applicable, inquire about references and links to support their claims.
- Trust, but verify: Just as you would with any answer you receive from a human or machine.
Below is an example of a yes-or-no question in which the two chatbots provided contradictory responses. After doing some research, I believe Chat-GPT is correct on this one for several reasons.
But imagine if I had only asked this question to Bard and did not verify its response… I could’ve been led to believe something incorrect.
PS. the day after I finished writing this, I came across Bing’s new chatbot, so now you have three sources to compare.
II.
Safetyism on the Rise
Safetyism, as described in The Coddling of the American Mind is the cult of safety, an obsession with eliminating all threats (both real and perceived). More than ever before, young adults believe that they should not only be safeguarded from physical threats like car accidents and assault, but also emotional “threats,” such as people who disagree with them.
Today, college students are increasingly interpreting emotional pain as a sign that they are in danger. They claim that certain kinds of speech (including the contents of many books, lectures, and courses) interfere with their ability to function. They demand protection from material that they believe could jeopardize their emotional state. While their concerns are valid, their emotional response to dissenting opinions may not be.
Safetyism will severely hinder the ability to pursue genuine truth if it becomes the standard.
(𝕏 quote)
III.
Time and The Present Moment
In a letter Albert Einstein wrote to the family of a lifelong friend who had passed, he said,
“For people like us who believe in physics, the separation between past, present and future has only the importance of an admittedly tenacious illusion.”
The notion of the passage of time is crucial for human progress and social connection, but it has its drawbacks. When we rely too heavily on the past and future, we make up excuses for why it’s okay to put off the most essential aspects of life.
We’ll say things like:
· Because so much time has passed, it’s too late for me to start.
· Because of all the other things going on right now, I can’t make the time.
· Because I don’t feel like it right now, I’ll wait for a future moment when I do.
As you read these words, this moment is the only moment that matters. It truly is the only moment you have. The past and future are abstract concepts beyond our grasp — yesterday is a memory, and tomorrow is a dream. If you defer living because of the illusion of time, you’re only deceiving yourself. The only moment you have is Now.
IV.
Exceptional Quality
Creating work of exceptional quality is becoming increasingly rare and valuable within our economy. This trend is a consequence of the diminishing number of individuals who can maintain focused concentration on a project for extended periods. We all begin each day with a finite reserve of willpower, which depletes with use, while much of our energy is squandered combating persistent distractions.
According to Cal Newport, the remedy to this challenge lies in what he terms Deep Work. He contends that deep work differs significantly from shallow work, which encompasses non-cognitively demanding, logistical tasks often performed amidst distractions. His solution for transcending shallow work and producing high-quality, deep work involves dedicating more time to intense focus, akin to entering a “flow state.” This entails leaving your phone behind, avoiding unnecessary detours at the coffee bar, and refraining from aimless internet browsing. By deliberately devoting a few hours each day to deep work, the results are bound to be remarkable.
V.
Signs in the Stars
This past week, I paid one of my yoga instructors to read my astrology chart. I mainly did so because I found out she was facing financial difficulties and living in a trailer, but I also harbored a bit of curiosity about the esoteric practice.
Following the reading, my skepticism toward astrology remains intact, if not strengthened. I struggle to comprehend how the positions of the sun and planets relative to the Earth at the time of my birth could influence my personality, let alone my life. After all, Copernicus demonstrated that the Earth isn’t the center of the solar system, and it’s evident that I’m not, either.
That said, there’s still some beauty to the whole practice. When examining an astrology chart, you’ll see a circle divided into 12 equal sections, like a clock. Each number represents a “house” where planets reside. When I inquired about the significance of the houses in my chart that lacked planets, the astrologist/yogi responded, “Just because you don’t have planets there doesn’t mean you can’t access those energies… everyone has access to all the planets, all the time.”
And that’s the key takeaway, my friends: Everyone has access to all the planets, all the time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Scorpio in the 12th house or a Gemini in the 5th house. It doesn’t matter what your moon sign or rising sign is. You possess the power to pursue whatever you desire in this life.
The question that remains is: what will you do with your unique powers?
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