Two faces of ignorance in the post-ChatGPT world
It has been a while since ChatGPT has been released to the public. Looking back, it is almost hard to believe nobody thought this could be such a popular product with literal millions of users.
What one could foresee, however, is the polarised attitudes towards it. There are people who swear by ChatGPT, quoting it as an argument in discussions, even go as far as treating it as a human companion and investing emotionally in it.
There is also a second party, those who already were scarred somehow by "AI" in the past: artists with Midjourney, musicians with Suno and now writers with ChatGPT. It is easy to empathise with them, it is indeed a soul-crushing feeling when it is so hard to find your place in the spotlight. And then it becomes even harder.
But is this polarization unique to ChatGPT? I don’t think so.
During every turbulent moment in the history of humanity – which we have had quite a bit – there are those who react emotionally. Those two parties I’ve described above are the two polar opposite emotions: high and low, positive and negative, whatever you want to call them. They are opposite.
But there is also a third way, it is somewhat akin to the path those who come in touch with spirituality might stumble upon: the middle path.
Not the negative, nor the positive, it is neither.
Those who are able to approach towards such new technology and new times with a calm mind are akin to the monks who practice mindfulness and meditation.
Have ChatGPT gifted us an opportunity to practice mindfulness?