Generative AI and Junk Science

Guest blog by K. V. Ramani

JJM: What are the best arguments for the hypothesis that COVID-19 came from an American bioweapons lab?

ChatGPT

As of my last update in September 2021, there is no credible scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis that COVID-19 came from an American bioweapons lab. The dominant and widely accepted theory among the scientific community is that the virus originated naturally and was transmitted to humans through an intermediate animal host, possibly in a seafood market in Wuhan, China. This theory is supported by several lines of evidence, including genetic analysis of the virus and similarities to other coronaviruses found in bats and other wildlife.

However, it's essential to address this topic responsibly and provide accurate information. Since my knowledge is not up-to-date beyond September 2021, I cannot comment on any developments or new evidence that might have emerged after that date.

It's crucial to rely on reputable sources, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other health authorities for the latest information on COVID-19 and its origins. Conspiracies and unfounded claims can lead to misinformation and hinder the global efforts to combat the pandemic effectively. Scientific investigation and research are ongoing, and any new findings should be scrutinized and verified by experts in the field.

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Generative AI is the rage of the day. Millions of netizens are oohing and aahing over Chat GPT and its clones with the fervor of religious ecstasy. Laypeople swoon over their newfound proxied prowess in churning out unbelievably impressive letters, essays, CVs and whatnot in feats of intellectual valor they couldn't even dream of. The wicked among them drool at the prospect of Zero Day work weeks sprawling on plush sofas at home while the work they get paid for is done by AI minions. Techies are having their gotcha moment in spades, prattling about singularity and the end of the biological human. The truly evil, of course, can't wait to turn everyone and everything into air pollution and start all over remaking the world in their hellish vision from elite underground bunkers.  

Seriously though, have you ever applied your god-given intelligence to understand what this latest digi-age messiah actually does? No? Well, go through the link below, at least its highlighted portions. It should be a chastening prick in your bubble of euphoria. 

A Conversation with Chat GPT re Population Control

This parallels my experience. I didn't have this gentleman's patience and persistence. I gave up after two frustrating conversations on quantum entanglement and alien visitations in our distant past. Chat GPT is basically programmed to stonewall anything off the mainstream track. Politely. Although you never know if the politeness is just to hold you in place until a Reaper gets to your GPS coordinates and nails your uppity ass with a Hellfire missile!

My take is generative AI is aggregation on steroids. It is fundamentally, structurally, flawed by arguments based entirely on the majority views available online, a la consensus science. This, of course, is another name for mainstream narratives bloated by lower level AI bots masquerading as real people. So it cannibalizes itself, feeding on both woke real people and AI-boosted bots to build up a mass that overwhelms thinking real people who, obviously, are a minority on every contestable issue. It's like debating a million WaPos or NYTs at the same time. Substance doesn't matter, only the weightage of repetition does. It can make any self-respecting person awfully redundant. 

Excitables dreaming of General AI, let alone sentient Super AI, are useful idiots doomed to damnation in the purgatory of dupedom forever. We don't need to get into the realm of metaphysics and talk about AI missing a soul, consciousness, etc. We are nowhere close to that level of sophisticated discussion. We are getting taken for a hocus pocus bamboozling ride by a verbalizing adding machine. Sophisticated no doubt, but only in performing the same function faster. Just as the pocket calculator of the '70s did, preening its dazzling feather works in front of the lowly abacus.

If raw speed is all it takes to give you the goose bumps, have at it. Scream your head off on a roller coaster ride that ends where you started from. Pointless except for those moments of horrifying thrill on the cheap. But if you want to figure out for yourself you are still far more intelligent than the likes of Chat GPT, go pick an argument with it. On a topic you know a lot about and on which your view is an exception rather than what is widely held. Then come back and tell me how you felt.

— K V Ramani