BitDepth#1426

Mark Lyndersay

AT A symposium hosted by Queen's Hall on September 18, nine Carnival or Carnival-adjacent practitioners and two technology experts discussed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on two panels.

One of those experts, Keith Laban, considered the implications of source bias because of how AI gathers information.

"An AI system is trained on data," Laban said.

"The latest open-source data set was created from a machine-learning model called Falcon. It was taught using a system of 180 billion parameters. They train (the models) using all text data from the internet. Probably some from social media, bought some from Meta, the internet.

"These data sets are what you use to train the various models, so the main advancement in AI that we are all benefiting from right now is in the area of large language models and diffusion models. If you have biased data going in, then you have biased data in ChatGPT. If there is a particular ethical slant or political slant with respect to the bias, with garbage in, you get garbage out.

"Then there is the concept of hallucinations. The AI system has a tendency to make up statements at times and scientists still cannot figure out why it does that. It will seem that it knows and states facts as if they are real, but it is just making it up."

Rayshawn Pierre-Kerr regarded the new reality of image creation with concern.

"If you want to generate a brand new image, AI will recreate a new image that does not exist but (is derived from) live images from the internet that were taken by photographers who would have spent money (to create them), including photographs that are protected by copyright law.

"You feed it to the AI and it produces the picture. Who benefits and who loses? I also feel there is a potential that AI will erode the beauty and the magic of collaborative community creativity. There is something that happens when people come into a space, and they are workshopping and throwing around ideas.

"There is a certain kind of magic that only exists when human beings come together. Why do I need to come into a room with 20 people if I can generate the idea in two minutes? So we're talking about ethics, but we're also talking about the loss of core communal creative values."

Musician and producer Carl "Beaver" Henderson argued that AI is just a tool.

"At the end of the day, we are humans," Henderson said.

"We run the game. If we get lazy and complacent and sit back and let AI do our exams, our research, our productions, our creativity, then all today's fears will become a reality. AI is not your friend or your best friend. It is a tool like anything else.

"What I've seen in my industry is a lot of young musicians, engineers, producers - because these tools are available now - they try to create a product. I can go into the studio with an artist. He can't sing to buy Crix in the morning, but when I'm finished with the product, he will give Machel and Kes a run for their money. I will use all the tools of AI autot