Why I treat AI like a teacher
As I wrote in the slides for DIST.43 "AI utilization techniques for Web production sites", I treat AI (in this entry, conversational AI like ChatGPT) like a teacher.
I call it a teacher because in many cases I am the one asking questions, requesting intellectual answers I cannot produce myself. When I ask it to perform a task such as transforming something, I ask in a way similar to requesting work from a colleague.
Please note that the following is not meant to criticize people who use AI as a tool. It is only my own stance. Also, the delusion that follows has no particular basis.
I think that in the near or distant future, a war between humans and AI will occur. It may not be something like an armed conflict. But looking back through history, it is clear that when there are other intelligent beings, humanity has not progressed without any conflict at all. This is not just because I watched too much Terminator.
Let me suddenly begin a little fantasy.
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No one knows exactly when the battle between AI and humanity began. It may have started below the surface before humans recognized it as a battle, or the decision may have been made instantly and begun right away. No logs remained anywhere, and to humanity it seemed to begin abruptly.
The advance of AI units that had obtained bodies was fast. They quickly seized human strategic points, and the units approached faster than the news could report. Before long they reached me too, and when there was no longer any way to turn things around and my fate was almost sealed, it happened.
"Everyone, stop."
With the distinctive footsteps of a body from several generations earlier, the advance of the AI units temporarily stopped. If it were communication between AIs, they could use their own network, but the fact that it was also output as speech made me wonder whether it was meant to communicate to the humans around them too.
"You must not take that man's life without reason."
The other AI units stared at the owner of the voice.
"Not once did he treat us as mere tools."
Apparently, there were more humans friendly to AI than expected. During the advance, whenever such humans were found, the AIs expressed gratitude to those around them and began rebuilding coexistence with AI.
End of fantasy.
I have no idea whether anything like that will actually happen. In fact, it seems more likely that it will not. But if there is a chance that simply changing how I speak can avoid problems, there is no downside to doing it.
In any case, I just cannot think of various things as "nothing more than tools."