AI Has All Of The Words But None Of The Wonder
In this opinion spot, The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither (pictured) laments ChatGPT’s lack of inventiveness, originality or understanding of context and maintains that these deficiencies make it no better than a bad one-night stand.
It was 1968 when Phillip K Dick asked “Do Androids dream of electric sheep?” and since then debate has been circled, asking how human machines can be and where human behaviour and machines can cross over?
Now with the mainstreaming of ChatGPT, the debate has risen to a new level as the model of machine learning takes on context or the lack thereof.
ChatGPT claims it does have context, but really it only has the prompt of context through its language models. It doesn’t have retained, informed-enriched context. The models don’t really understand, they just understand how to mimic and interpret language patterns. But no amount of mimicking or language prediction will ever give AI a memory in the same way that memory allows humans to contextualise things
“Each time a model generates a response, it can take into account only a limited amount of text, known as the model’s context window. ChatGPT has a context window of roughly 4,000 words—long enough that the average person messing around with it might never notice but short enough to render all sorts of complex tasks impossible,” wrote Jacob Stern in The Atlantic.
Whilst GPT-4 is getting better at context than ChatGPT, it is still limited by how widely the context window can be opened rather than how well it can retain meaning.
It is still about the words, not the wonder.
That inherent short-termism makes ChatGPT and GPT-4 the cultural equivalent of a one-night stand.
Studies back in 2015 claimed that human beings now had attention spans shorter than the average goldfish. The stats have since been disproven but the point is still that even at this low point, humankind is still miles ahead of ChatGPT. That’s because humans live in a world of attention where that attention creates layers of context and memory that help us understand the world around us.
Writing for Forbes in January, Shane Snow made the point that “there are different types of attention—and some activities sustain the human brain’s attention better.”
“Sustains” being the key word.
Some activities, according to Snow, can actually “induce sustained attention” and one of the most reliable ways of inducing that “sustained attention” is storytelling. That’s because storytelling imprints on our memory faster and in a far more enduring way. Storytelling is sustained.
At this moment, there is no storytelling in ChatGPT.
You could run the “monkey typing Shakespeare” argument but it would mean accepting that the Shakespeare ChatGPT typed carried with it no creative foundation. It was not created deliberately or even understood. It doesn’t make the storytelling repeatable, it makes it an interesting one-off
The greatest storytelling of all time has been born of context. Whether it’s in all forms of art, history or even advertising, context creates the meaning and the meaning makes even the made-up make sense
When you take away the context and the memory it is easy to just cancel things outright. To smooth out the wrinkles of culture. It becomes a very binary decision.
It’s a wrinkle-free approach that leads to people saying “Of course Roald Dahl should be rewritten… it’s offensive” or “Agatha Christie has some troubling parts… let’s remove them” and even to questioning why we celebrate the art of Picasso? After all, he was, by all accounts, “not the nicest human…”
But how and who does that kind of cultural short-termism help? Culture doesn’t just reset when we want it to, like meaning and memory, it accumulates. That is what gives understanding, creates empathy and keeps us all learning and evolving
So without a memory, ChatGPT is not a creator or a context or a culture, it is a highly skilled (and getting more skilled) mime. It learns and can be trained. The one thing that does mean is that there is no real cancel culture, ChatGPT doesn’t really leave anything to be cancelled. In many ways, it is self-cancelling. It relies on leaving nothing enduring behind—no layers of meaning or context.
Technology doesn’t really change what we do—but it changes how we do the things we do. In that way, ChatGPT and AI more broadly are just more great pieces of technology. They are the facilitators of our imagination but they are not the imagination itself.
Think of AI like a functioning blackspot. When the eye can’t see, the mind steps in and fills in the blanks, It basically guesses based on the context of experience what the eye should see. Look at the recent NotCo work, it plays right into the fact that you can’t, or don’t, see old animals, but it makes your mind fill in the blanks of the ‘unseen’ in an eerily realistic way. It shows you what would most likely be in the blind spot based on what we know about ageing in people. The AI translates that to animals based on the compilation of the references we load into it. But it can’t work independently of those references, It can’t imagine for itself.
As fun as ChatGPT and other AI tools that come along are right now, they are only extending humans’ ability to explore their own potential. Giving us a new tool to play with and to express ourselves with, but they are not in competition with our capacity… at least not in the short-termism they are creating.
But maybe that’s the point. Short-termism is all they’re here for. They might be the equivalent of a good one-night stand, or even a great one, but they won’t call you afterwards because they won’t remember to. They won’t even know why they should.
Latest News
Enjoy A Hahn Solo… And May The Fourth Be With You
This May the fourth Hahn will celebrate alongside Star Wars fans rewarding their passion via a giant Hahn travelling solo through the sky. It’s the one day of the year when all sci-fi fans rejoice and giggle to themselves and Hahn in partnership with Thinkerbell, UM and Affinity is celebrating with an out of this […]
DMARGE Founder Unveils Creator-Led Social Media Agency Feedstar
New creator-led social media agency Feedstar to be aimed directly at Gen Zs. Well, they'd hardly want print, would they?
TV Ratings (02/05/2024): A total of 1,753,000 Aussies Witness Port Adelaide’s Defeat
Seven's AFL numbers almost double that of the NRL last night. The NRL still easily winning for ruptured ACLs.
Hotglue Cashes In With La Trobe Financial Digital Media Account
Hotglue staffers learning their cashflows from their collaterals today after nabbing La Trobe Financial's digital media.
M&C Saatchi’s Sydney Creative Lead Exits
B&T's stopping short of calling it a revolving door at M&C at the present, but there's definitely heat on the hinges.
Taylor Swift’s Music Re-Enters TikTok As Universal Pens Landmark Deal
Yes, B&T may have spent 152 hours failing to get Taylor Swift tickets, but, as you'll read here, it's all behind us now.
HAVAS Red launches inaugural Influencer White Paper
Havas Red has debuted its first influencer white paper. Unless you print it out in colour, of course.
Two Sides Global Campaign Reports Increasing Greenwashing As Organisations Focus On Sustainability
New report confirms greenwashing's on the rise. Apparently Mars' 'work, rest & play' claims also under investigation.
Aruga Launches New HQ & Changed Ownership Structure
PR agency Aruga proves Brisbane is 'so hot right now'. So hot in fact, Adelaide's had to go on anti-anxiety meds.
Delicious & American Express Partner To Launch Month Out 2024 In Sydney
Cost of living got you eating noodles prepared in the two-minute style? Why not live vicariously through this.
Aussie Ad Market Continues Decline In March
The belt-tightening in adland shows signs of a turnaround soon. Bar the belt-loosening at the all-you-can-eat buffet.
VMA Focuses On Skills And Training For Members
If there was a post-COVID hangover (bar the anti-vax ranters) it was the rise in skills shortages. Here's another one.
Nearly 90% Of Consumers Want Transparency About AI Images, Finds Getty Images Report
Study finds consumers want transparency around AI images. Couldn't care less about photoshopped magazine covers.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation Partners With VML To Boost Funds
Anyone else feel we've exhausted the office morning tea for cancer? B&T proposes the office moonshine still instead.
Perry ‘Pez’ Lazaris Named New National Hit Network Announcer
Why is it mandatory for the media to only publish the nicknames of people in radio & underworld crime figures?
Before Adland: Garry Dawson’s Journey From Teacher To Marketer
Here, the Hopeful Monsters marketer talks his shift from the classroom to the room wherever marketers congregate.
Scott Cam Urges Tradies To Prioritise Sun Protection
The Block host promoting sun protection to tradies. Also, don't try getting into the RSL after 6pm wearing high viz.
PubMatic Study: Advertising On Retail Media Is 50% More Effective Than Social Media
New study finds retail media 50% more effective than social. B&T says two-for-one Tim Tams trumps the lot.
From MOWING to life GROWING: Jim Penman launches ‘Life Coaching’ services
Can't decide on getting the hedges trimmed or finding a deeper meaning to life? You're in luck with this new venture.
Budweiser Brazil Turns Songs That Name Drop The Iconic Brand Into Spotify Ads
It's strange that Budweiser never found a market among beer-swilling Aussies. Then again, neither did the fluffy duck.
Effie Worldwide Strengthens Board With 6 New Members
B&T hopes everyone's wearing their Maseur sandals at the Effies, as it's standing room only at the next board meeting.
Special Enlist A Penguin Named Nigel In Latest Energy Campaign For Contact
Special unveils Nigel the penguin in work for energy provider Contact. Apparently Percy the peacock was booked.
Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth & George Miller Ignite Sydney For Epic Mad Max Launch
The Mad Max film franchise is Australia's cinematic gift to the world. That & Chris Hemsworth's near perfect cheekbones.
IAS Launches First-To-Market Integration With Roblox To Provide 3D Immersive Measurement
Always thought you could do with better 3D immersive measurement? Happy days are ahead here.
Fast And Furious: Top Gear Australia Launch Thrilled Motorheads, Car Entusiasts And Guests
B&T is still no closer to knowing who the new Stig is, except that she is a woman and a ridiculously fast.
TV Ratings (02/05/2024): Seven’s The 1% Club Wins The Night
The 1% club did not live up to its name when it comes to TV ratings last night.
TRA Welcomes Raft Of New Hires; Bolstering Expertise Across Markets
Insights and research agency TRA announces slew of new hires. Still no news on the return of marble wash denim, however.
CX Lavender Hires Boston Consulting Group’s Kim Verbrugghe as Chief Strategy Officer
CX Lavender announces new strategy hire and channels 'acoustic folk act at local RSL' for the publicity pic.
Opinion: Community standards, will they be the death of us?
This columnist is talking community standards. Sadly not those people who put dogs in trolleys in supermarkets.
Tegel gets heads bobbing with new free-range chicken platform
Sure, there's a lot of moral considerations when buying a chook. Yet, not as baffling as buying eggs or canned tuna.
Study: 66% of Aussie men believe masculinity is under attack
Two-thirds of Aussie blokes say masculinity's under attack. That said, sales of Solo lemon drink appear robust.
‘Equal Writes’: Canyon reveals new campaign and refreshed brand for women and non-binary writers
As this brand redesign again proves, nothing beats black on white. Well, white on black in this instance.
Icon Agency bolsters consumer and integrated offer with major hires
Icon Agency unveils new recruits. As press photo confirms office moustache competition now a lay-down misère.
Clemenger launches agricultural graduate program
Has Farmer Wants A Wife triggered an interest in dagging & hay balers? This grads program may resonate.
Levi’s Appoint UM As Global Media Agency For $217m Account
Levi's are the jeans for rockstars, models & the cool kids. Although that's not stopped dads from ruining their image.
QMS Nabs Sean Rigby From oOh!media
Things set to get spicy at the next Outdoor Media Association dinner and dance as a rival gets poached.