"Here Comes the Singularity"

This image was generated by OpenArt, an AI platform, in response to the following prompt: “Create a podcast cover for an episode of Texting, a Podcast for Textual Deviants, by Mark Will and Tomek. The episode is called ‘Here Comes the Singularity’ and is about ChatGPT and AI. The podcast cover should express pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will.”

Attention, cyborgs!

For this week’s episode of Texting, I asked ChatGPT by OpenAI to create a podcast on the topic of . . . ChatGPT by OpenAI. Tomek and I playfully perform a dramatic reading of the rather insipid (and short) dialogue which was thus generated and consider whether it passes the Turing Test. We then discuss AI-related issues such as transhumanism, the possibility of a Neo-Luddite revolution, and of course sex robots. Whether you are a technogeek, a blade runner, a paranoid android, or a clueless layperson (like me), I hope you find our conversation entertaining and thought-provoking.

Thanks to Jamie Bartlett, author of The People Vs Tech, for allowing Tomek to pick his brain on deep fakes and other matters. Thanks also to friends of the pod Aidan, Hania, Stephen, and Mr. X for sharing their opinions about AI.

The title of this episode, BTW, alludes to a Killing Joke song which I fail to mention during the recording but whose lyrics we would probably do well to consider:

Kneel down and freedom's gone
Speak out - something's wrong
So when society breaks down in screaming insanity
And when the sky cracks open
Here comes the singularity

Next week’s text is Dead Man’s Shoes, another film by Shane Meadows (who as you will no doubt recall directed This is England). Stay tuned!

MW