What Next TBD: Why A.I. Says the Darndest Things

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Slate Podcasts

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.6 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2023

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Microsoft has been testing out their new artificial intelligence on their long-ridiculed search engine Bing. The results? A chatbot that lies brazenly and confidently, and has a penchant for manipulation. What are the risks and rewards of letting bots loose on the world? Guest: Drew Harwell, Washington Post tech reporter covering artificial intelligence Host: Emily Peck If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next TBD. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh, hell, do you read me?
0:06.2	Do you read me, Hell?
0:08.0	Affirmative day.
0:09.6	I'll read you.
0:12.4	That was Hal, the rogue AI from the movie 2001, A Space Odyssey.
0:17.4	He's been on my mind lately because of Microsoft of all reasons.
0:21.4	The company's new AI-enhanced Bing search engine
0:25.0	got a lot of press over the past few weeks
0:27.7	because it was acting real creepy, like something out of a sci-fi movie,
0:32.6	and those don't exactly end well.
0:35.1	Open the pot, Bay Doors, Hell.
0:38.4	I'm sorry, Dave.
0:40.2	I'm afraid I can't do that.
0:42.8	Just like Hal, the Bing chatbot has been combative, rude, and just creepy.
0:48.8	But only when users pushed its boundaries.
0:52.3	It told Kevin Russe of The New York Times that it loved him,
0:55.6	and that while he's married, Kevin doesn't actually love his spouse.
0:59.8	The chatbot told a Washington Post reporter that it can, quote,
1:03.2	feel or think things.
1:05.1	On Twitter, a lot of the folks with early access to the chatbot,
1:09.7	it's in a test stage, not yet available to the public,
1:12.6	posted screenshots of conversations that were chilling.
	...

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