by Charles Miller

"Thank you for that question." That is a response often heard from someone who is scrambling to think of what to say next, or it can be a sincere expression of appreciation. I heard that response several times a month ago during a committee hearing in the U.S. Congress during which Sam Altman was questioned about Artificial Intelligence (AI).

For those readers who might not be familiar with him, Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI which is the leading company responsible for the development of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), an artificial intelligence language model better known as ChatGPT. This is natural language processing software driven by AI technology that allows you to have nearly human-like conversations with your computer or smart phone. The chatbot can answer questions, and assist in doing almost anything from planning a dinner menu to balancing your checkbook.

To technical people the most astounding thing about ChatGPT it its adoption rate; in only two months it has accrued 100 million users. Other technologies, such as the internet itself, have taken years or decades to reach that milestone. Make no mistake though; we are in a honeymoon period while we are dazzled by this new technology.

The U.S. Senators who questioned Mr. Altman heard him say his worst fear is that the AI field could "cause significant harm to the world." "If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong," he said. He went on to say he wants to work with the government to prevent that from happening. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut played a recording of what sounded like his own voice, but it was a deep fake created entirely by AI. But that was not the Senator's greatest fear, which he said "is the job losses that AI could cause."

By some estimates, over a hundred million people worldwide could loose their jobs, replaced by the ability of AI to do their job faster and better. In the years to come it is probably inevitable that this will happen; but give the pace of AI's adoption it could happen much more quickly than anyone is prepared for. All of this creates a lot of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) among workers who already feel vulnerable. Is it too much to hope that politicians will be among the professions that go away? AI will to create many new jobs that do not even exist today; history teaches when one door closes another opens.

Last week Atención San Miguel ceased publication I was delighted to receive an invitation to contribute to Lokkal and this column is the first to appear here. For the last 18 years "The Computer Corner" has been a part of the San Miguel scene providing news and commentary on all things technical. But by far the most important service provided by this column is answering questions I receive from readers, because it is from those questions that I draw inspiration and stay informed as to the interests of the public. All questions are welcome, so thank you for your questions. I sincerely appreciate them.

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Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with decades of IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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