Like It Or Not
AI is with us . . . whether we like it or not!
Main thing is protect . . . while enjoy benefits a lot!
© Forrest W. Heaton February 2024
Does this post have two purposes? Yes. 1) First is to illustrate how much AI is becoming a part of our life whether we like it or not. 2) Second is to to remind you to seek ever-more secure protection from non-AI-assisted and AI-assisted identity and financial fraud.
Did the Nasher Museum in Durham NC USA use artificial intelligence (AI) to curate an exhibit for the public to see? Yes. It ran from Sep23 to Jan24. It was a well-done, one-room display of 21 selections from their almost 14,000 piece art-work collection, contained both sculpture and different styles of paintings, contained an AI explanation of each, and contained the museum’s curator’s explanation of each. It took the AI exactly four seconds to make the twenty-one piece selection out of the almost fourteen-thousand possibilities. Did the curators have to intervene and make a change? Yes. Out of the 21, 4 were Salvador Dali’s. Although such a selection matched the guidelines instructed to the computer, the curators felt the public would feel something was amiss.
Was this an experiment? Yes. With artificial intelligence increasingly available to the world, Duke University Art Department professors and students theorized: Since AI can interpret vast data (text and image), previously human decisions could now be the domain of computers. To test this theory, they conducted an experiment: Transforming the dataset of their collection into machine-readable data, they asked it to act like a curator and select artworks for the exhibition. Instructions were: “Using your data set, select works of art related to the themes of dystopia, utopia, dreams, and the subconscious.”
What were some of the artworks selected? Shown below are a few of the 21 artworks AI selected from their collection.
Was the exhibition successful? When done, the show received excellent reviews. As recently stated in the New York Times: AI will need to be “parented” to help it understand human values, expectations, doubts, anxieties, performance, etc. It is this that worries so many experts on the matter.
Did their ChatGPT review the new show? The Nasher Museum’s curator staff asked their ChatGPT to review the show it had curated. Its evaluation: “The show embraces the playfulness of its conceit but A.I. anxieties still poke through.”
Like It Or Not. The forgoing was to illustrate that, like it or not, AI will be a major part of our daily lives.
Might AI offer both chaos and opportunity? Absolutely! University of North Carolina Professor Mark McNeilly, Co-Chair UNC Generative AI Committee, reports: “Included in the chaos will be fairness, cyberattacks and ‘hallucination.’ Included in the opportunity will be productivity, creativity, and knowledge.”
Is AI-assisted financial fraud increasing? James Ledbetter, writing for The Financial Brand, advises: “Deepfakes, spearfishing, FraudGPT: AI is accelerating the world of financial fraud at a dizzying pace.”
Is AI-assisted identity theft increasing? One identity protection service reports: In 2023, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) “received 1.4 million reports of identity theft.” “Americans can end up loosing billions each year to fraudsters.”
Students Teaching Professors. An Oct23 study determined over half of students use generative AI; however, over 75% of faculty have no involvement with it.
Fear? We are not trying to scare anyone. AI can offer ever-more swift resolution for many tasks. However, at the same time, this is not something you can ignore.
Fraud Protection? Much of the protection from AI-assisted fraud will be the same or similar to the protection from non-AI-assisted fraud. Its just that both will come faster and bigger. You don’t have to use AI, but you will need to seek qualified help re banks, credit cards, investment firms and Social Security to assure you have adequate protection from people who choose to use AI fraudulently.