Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence programmed into computers with software. AI software applications make it possible for computers to learn, reason, plan, and decide. AI is being used increasingly to improve search engines, self-driving vehicles, human speech understanding, and more.
AI will likely be used increasingly in software to help humans be more productive and creative in many fields. STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), computing and the arts are some notable examples.
Like many innovations in history, AI will end up replacing certain jobs that humans currently do. One example in recent decades was when automated phone systems replaced many employees who spoke with business customers. Another example was the printing press, which eliminated the job of scribe, but ended up creating even more jobs than it eliminated in the growing newspaper and book industries. One of many examples in AI’s future could be self-driving cars replacing taxi and bus drivers. Perhaps AI will also create more jobs than eliminates, but only history will tell.
AI has been used on both sides of the cybersecurity field, to generate more capable attacks as well as defenses. AI itself may also be vulnerable to cyberattacks and viruses, but at the time this introduction was written (by a human), there have been no major news stories on the topic.
This set of activities introduces AI and has examples of how it can be used as a tool to develop (micro:bit) computer applications and images based on descriptions. With simple scripts, AI can do a good job of writing the script you describe. However, when describing and generating more complex scripts, you might find that what you really need is to strive to be a more skilled coder yourself to be able to use AI as a tool to write scripts.
You will need:
You will be able to:
As AI evolves, you will likely find yourself and others depending on it as a tool for everyday tasks as well as to solve challenging problems. It might be as simple as telling an AI to turn the lights on or off, or as complex as using it as a tool to help you design complex software or machines. Regardless, it’s a tool you are likely to make increasing use of. So understanding its strengths, weaknesses and flaws will hopefully help you be better at avoiding its pitfalls and benefitting from ways it can help.
What better way to introduce AI than with the help of one, namely ChatGPT? ChatGPT stands for chat generative pre-trained transformer, and it was developed by OpenAI.
This interview occurred in November of 2023, and has been edited for clarity.
USER
Please reply to interview questions at an 8th grade writing level. Any new vocabulary should have a clearly stated definition. Answers should be concise. Are you ready?
ChatGPT
Absolutely, I'm ready! Please go ahead with the interview questions.
USER
May I call you Chat?
ChatGPT
Certainly! You can call me Chat.
USER
Okay, thanks Chat. So, what are you?
ChatGPT
I'm a computer program called ChatGPT. I'm designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input I receive. People use me for various tasks, like answering questions, generating ideas, or having conversations.
USER
Are you an AI?
ChatGPT
Yes, I am an AI, which stands for Artificial Intelligence. This means I'm a computer program that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, like understanding language and generating responses.
USER
How did you become intelligent?
ChatGPT
I became intelligent through a process called machine learning. In simple terms, I was trained on a large amount of text data from the internet to learn patterns and information. This training helped me understand and generate human-like text. It's a bit like learning from examples to become better at tasks over time.
USER
It seems like you have learned it all quite well.
ChatGPT
Thank you! I've been trained on a diverse range of information, but I don't know everything. My training has a cutoff date of January 2022, so I may not be aware of more recent events or developments. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to help!
USER
Please explain how giving up on learning and practicing skills would defeat the purpose of being able to use an AI assistant.
ChatGPT
Sure, let's break it down:
Imagine having a super helpful robot friend that can assist you with different tasks. This robot is like having a powerful tool that makes things easier. However, for the robot to be most useful, you need to tell it what to do and how to do it.
Now, if you decide to stop learning and practicing the skills needed to use the robot effectively, it's a bit like having this incredible tool but not knowing how to use it properly. Here's why learning and practicing are crucial:
In essence, giving up on learning and practicing skills means you won't be able to fully harness the power of the robot or AI assistant. It's like having a fantastic tool but not knowing how to make the most of it. Learning and skill-building ensure you can use the AI assistant to its full potential and apply it effectively to different aspects of your life.
USER
Could you summarize the interview about you and your AI features and capabilities? Also, please give me a list of relevant vocabulary terms in the discussion along with their definitions.
ChatGPT
Summary of Interview:
In the interview, we discussed my identity as ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. I explained that I'm designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input I receive. My intelligence comes from a process called machine learning, where I was trained on a diverse range of text data from the internet up until my last knowledge update in January 2022.
Relevant Vocabulary:
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Computer systems or models that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as understanding language and solving problems.
Machine Learning: A subset of AI that involves training a model on data to learn patterns and make predictions or decisions.
USER
Say, Chat, in the vocabulary list, it seems like you left out the definition of yourself. Can you give me an enumerated definition to add to the list?
ChatGPT
Certainly! Here's the enumerated definition for ChatGPT to add to the list:
(Note: contrary to instructions, ChatGPT provided the entire list, not just the addition.)
USER
Um, what I'm asking for is just item 3, not the rest.
ChatGPT
Certainly, I apologize for the oversight. Here's the individual definition for ChatGPT:
User
Please list the important concepts covered in this interview.
ChatGPT
Certainly, here are the important concepts covered in this interview:
USER
Please create a list of enumerated questions to probe student understanding of the subject, and below that provide answers to each question.
ChatGPT
Probing Questions:
Sometimes an AI is not well suited for the job you want it to do. Try it again in a few years, and do better. Or perhaps there’s an AI better suited to what you are trying to do. In this activity, you will evaluate attempts to get an AI image creator to improve some diagrams.
Let’s say that we need to create an image for a report, and the goal is to have it resemble this schematic and wiring diagram below. Can AI do it? By the time you see this, maybe it will be able to. As of late 2023, it serves as a lesson for knowing what free, commonly available AI could and could not do as a tool.
Starting with just the schematic (left side of the goal image above), let’s see how Microsoft Bing Chat does. Not bad really, it understood what we asked for and provided a readable schematic.
Let’s try asking it to make both the schematic and the wiring diagram as an image and see what happens.
Okay, one more try. Let’s see if it can simply touch up the existing image, swapping the Vdd labels with 5 V and the Vss labels with GND.