None of the technical advances that have come along over the years has given me the willies the way “artificial intelligence” has done.
Yep. This whole AI commotion has sent me into the weirdest feeling of insecurity I have ever experienced.
AI — which is now the term of art for this technology — is about to call into question virtually every spoken word uttered in public. Is it the real person or is it some artificially produced of the voice we are hearing?
Those of us who toiled in the craft of journalism have reason to be concerned about this so-called technological “advance.” We have relied on the sources we develop during our years telling the stories of the communities where we live. What might happen to those sources now with artificially produced voices being able to sound like the real thing?
Look, I don’t believe I am pushing any panic buttons here.
I am sure you have heard about the pending release of the final song The Beatles have finished, right? It started with a demo tape recorded by the late John Lennon. I have heard it was a rough tape. Sir Paul McCartney got hold of the tape and with aid of artificial intelligence has been able to blend in the voices of the late George Harrison, along with his own voice, to produce a song that will carry the name of The Beatles.
Except that John and George have been dead for 43 and 22 years, respectively.
What we have will be an AI version of The Beatles. Not the actual musicians.
I don’t know. This AI technology simply gives me the creeps. I know I sound like a fogey resistant to change. I am not that kind of person. I have learned — and am learning — to adapt to changes every single day.
However, I fear the day will arrive when I will doubt whether I am hearing the real thing or some manufactured version of it.
It’s frightening.