Episode 46: Chat GPT, Artificial Intelligence and Jewish Ethical Wisdom
Description
“I’m sorry Dave, I can’t do that.” That’s the famously chilling line spoken by HAL, a sentient computer, in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. By refusing orders, HAL sets out to kill Dave. Will artificial intelligence do something like this in reality (something on the scale of the Terminator or the Matrix?) Will A.I. put most of us out of work? Or are these concerns overblown? To address these questions, we sit down with Mitch Marcus, a computer scientist and linguist who has been studying A.I. since the 1970s. We discuss how programs like Chat GPT work, what he thinks governments should do to regulate A.I., and what it means for A.I. to succeed. He also shares how the study of Talmud and Zohar has informed his understanding of how language works and how Jewish ethics can guide social policy surrounding A.I. He breaks down the difference between a computer and the mythical Golem.
Theme song, “Ilu Finu” by Rabbi Miriam Margles. Her album This is the Day is available for purchase at CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/miriammarglesandthehadarensemb
Visit our home on the web — Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations: http://evolve.reconstructingjudaism.org
Subscribe by Email at http://subscribebyemail.com/evolve.fireside.fm/rss
Read these show notes on the web at https://evolve.fireside.fm/1
This podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism. Visit us at ReconstructingJudaism.org.
Special Guest: Mitch Marcus.
Links:
- Evolve coverage of Israel/Palestine
- Ways to help in this time of war
- Find Spiritual Support
- Reconstructing Judaism's statement on the horrific attacks on Israel
- Ritualwell Gathering of Poetry and Prayer Provided Space to Grieve and Come Together
- Progressive Israel Network Statement on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
- Read Mitch Marcus' Evolve Essay: ChatGPT Is the Opposite of the Golem
- Read Mitch Marcus' Evolve Essay: The Power and Danger of Artificial Intelligence
- The Human Condition in an Algorithmized World
- From The New Yorker: Our Automated Future
- I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.