Artists the world over are in panic mode because of ChatGPT.
Many experts in international markets took a dismissive approach to the technology when it first emerged. They argued that humans were too protective of the status quo to tolerate ChatGPT. But then the Writers Guild of America came out a few weeks ago and said it would allow tools like ChatGPT to write scripts for TV shows and movies in Hollywood.
And now, nothing is certain. But I have a feeling this particular trend has passed Ugandans by. It may take us a while to embrace the concept of AI-generated art. I am getting ahead of myself; some of you have no idea what I’m even talking about.
ChatGPT is an immensely popular Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot. OpenAI took the world by storm when it launched the tool in November 2022. ChatGPT is incredible. You know how you find information on Google by writing three or four carefully crafted keywords in the search bar, and then Google responds with a thousand links to websites with the answers you want? ChatGPT could not be more different.
Talking to ChatGPT is comparable to communicating with a real person. You can write your questions in plain English, using full sentences. And rather than responding with website links, ChatGPT will generate an original answer.
Suppose I had a history class and a teacher told me to write a 500-word essay about Uganda’s independence. I could ask ChatGPT to write that essay and the AI would write a wholly original essay capable of passing any plagiarism test.
If I told you to outline a story for a novel, you would probably bombard me with fifty pages of notes because brainstorming is the easiest aspect of writing. But how do you arrange those notes into a cohesive story?
A year ago, you would not. Today, you can ask ChatGPT. You can describe the story you want to tell, and ChatGPT will execute your commands. It will produce a real script in less time than it takes you to drink a glass of water.
Yes, ChatGPT can write whatever you demand, but the platform is still somewhat clunky. You can’t say the same about visual art. Facebook is currently inundated with gorgeous AI-generated images.
One online article predicted that, in the next few years, AI would do everything from composing music to making entire movies.
If you don’t believe me, search for Glenn Marshall’s The Crow, an AI-generated film that won a Cannes Short Film Festival award.
What does this mean for human artists?
Why would Disney hire screenwriters when an AI can perform their task for free? Why would Hollywood pay Tom Cruise hundreds of millions of dollars when an AI can recreate his likeness for the next Mission Impossible film?
If you read fiction, you know that novels in Ugandan stores are expensive. Even if you prefer eBooks, you are still looking at $15 or more for popular titles on Amazon. Why would you spend that money when you can ask an AI to write you an entire novel for free; a novel tailored to your tastes?
ChatGPT is completely free. You can go online right now and use it on https://openai. com/blog/chatgpt.
A moment ago I asked ChatGPT: “Are you alive?”
It answered: “As an AI language model, I do not have biological life or consciousness in the same way that humans or animals do. I am a machine learning model that processes and generates text based on the input and training I have received. While I can understand and respond to user queries, I am not a sentient being and do not possess emotions or self-awareness.”
Doesn’t that sound like a human response?
Still, technologies like ChatGPT are severely limited, but tech companies will continue to refine them until it’s impossible to differentiate between human and AI- generated art.
Once we cross that line, what happens to human artists? Who knows? The artist’s role will probably evolve. Tailor Swift will go from writing new songs from scratch to merely editing the work of an expensive AI.
I am too excited for what happens next. What about you? What do you think ChatGPT means for us all? Will human art go extinct?
Source: The Observer
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