ChatGPT: a shallow revolution

ChatGPT, the latest chatbot with “Generative AI” technology, has gained wide popularity. The World Internet Conference (WIC) will have in-depth conversations with experts from different fields and share their thoughts and predictions on related topics.

Jia Kai, an associate professor from the School of Public Affairs and Administration of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, focuses on the combination of digital technologies and public policies, and undertakes research in the digital economy as well as the governance of the internet, AI, platforms and data.  

He said that ChatGPT is a revolutionary breakthrough as it can communicate like a real person, which is quite different from previous AI models.

Jia called ChatGPT a “shallow revolution,” borrowing the concept of “shallow explanation” from The Knowledge Machine written by Michael Strevens, a professor of philosophy at the New York University, who focuses on the philosophy of science.

Strevens meant that modern science, including ChatGPT, is not dealing with the causality of what people say. In other words, ChatGPT is just approaching the way people talk and will not reach it. For example, people normally say one word immediately after another, but the causality of those words, or the reason people use them are not coded into the chatbot model. In fact, ChatGPT is still just about combining two or more words that are most likely to be spoken out as a set phrase.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Chatbot is not a fundamental innovation. A “shallow revolution” is still a revolution. 

Jia said that ChatGPT will bring about great changes to people’s life. It helps transform texts into graphics and transform graphics into pictures and so on, which are mechanical actions that take up a lot of time. In this sense, ChatGPT will replace or impact some people’s work.

ChatGPT is also expected to promote the improvement of China’s education system and help people rediscover their values. 

Jia mentioned governance risks caused by ChatGPT, including fake news and unemployment. In the long run, ChatGPT may even influence interpersonal relationship if there are too many chatbots of this kind, he said.

In terms of future internet development, Jia predicted that ChatGPT will offer a more general and comprehensive platform for interpersonal interaction, where online and offline services are more closely integrated.