CG4 – Questions α

OpenAI - ChatGPT4.
In what follows we attempt to address several basic questions about the onrushing progress with the current focus of artificial intelligence. There are several competing actors in this space. These include OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic, and Cohere. A number of other competitors are active in the artificial intelligence market place. But for purposes of brevity and because of the overlap we will limit focus on ChatGPT4 (CG4). Further, we focus on several salient questions that that raise questions of safety, risk and prospects.
Specifically, risks that involve or are:

• Interfacing/Access: how will different groups interact with, respond to and be affected by it; might access modalities available to one group have positive or negative implications for other groups;
  Interfacing - Synthesis.

• Political/Competitive: how might different groups or actors gain or lose relative advantage; also, how might it be used as a tool of control;
  Political - Synthesis.

• Evolutionary/Stratification: might new classifications of social categories emerge; were phenotypical bifurcations to emerge would or how would the manifest themselves;
  Evolutionary - Synthesis.

• Epistemological/Ethical relativism: how to reconcile ethical issues within a society, between societies; more specifically, might it provide solutions or results that are acceptable to the one group but unacceptable to the other group;
  Epistemological - Synthesis
  

Synthesis.
Responding to these questions calls for some baseline information and insights about the issues that this new technology entails. We propose to suggest we look

• Terms are included to help clarify crucial elements and contextualize CG4;
• Sentiment is being expressed about it by knowledgeable observers;
• Theory of Operation of technology paradigm used to produce its results;
• Risks our approach has been to present a few commonly occurring risks, whether inherent or malicious as well as some theoretical risks that might emerge;
• Insights are offered to serve as takeoff points for subsequent discussion;

Terms and Basic Concepts.
CG4 has demonstrated capabilities that represent a significant leap forward in overall capability and versatility beyond what has gone before. In order to attempt an assessment prospective risks suggests reviewing recent impressions at a later date as more reporting and insights have come to light. CG4 has already demonstrated that new and unforeseen risks are tangible; in some instances novel and unforeseen capabilities have been reported. It is with this in mind that we attempt here to offer an initial profile or picture of the risks that we should expect to see with its broader use. By way of of addressing this increasingly expanding topic we offer our summary along the following plan of discourse:

Overview and Impressions.

• what has emerged so far; some initial impressions are listed;
• next are some caveats that have been derived from these impressions;

Theory of Operation.
For purposes of brevity a thumb nail sketch of how CG4 performs its actions is presented;

• included are some high level diagrams
• also links to several explanatory sources; these sources include articles and video content;

Risks.
Our thesis identifies three primary types of risks; these include:

• systemic these are inherent as a natural process of ongoing technological, sociological advance;
• malicious: who known actors categories are; how might they use this new capability;
• theoretical: or possible new uses that might heretofore not been possible;

Notes, References.
We list a few notable portrayals of qualitative technological or scientific leaps;

CG4 – Theory of Operation: CG4 is a narrow artificial intelligence system that is a Generative Pre-trained Transformer.
In order to make sense of this one would be well advised to understand several fundamental concepts associated with this technology. Because this is a highly technical subject the following is intended to introduce the core elements. The reader is encouraged to review the literature and body of insight that is currently available as explanatory video content.

• Recent Topics or Issues

• Consciousness: Recent consciousness research has thrown more light on the subject. A number of models have developed in recent years that attempt to address the so-called "hard problem". The basis of this problem focuses on the question of "what it is like to be a bat or a dolphin or a wolf". And identifying the neural correlates that mediate the experience of being. The authors propose approaching the question of if artificial consciousness is possible they suggest the utilization of computational functionalism, empirical neuroscientific evidence then they suggest that a theory-heavy approach be used to assess the viability of the various models that have been proposed to date. They then list the current candidates. These include:
  • recurrent processing theory
  • global workspace theory
  • computational higher order theories
  • attention schema theory
  • predictive processing
  • agency and embodiment

In each case they set out what are described as indicator properties. An indicator property is a trait or feature that must be present for consciousness to be operative.

• Awareness: This is a characteristic trait of an organism that is capable of sensing the world around itself. It likewise will possess the capability to recognize, interpret and respond to various internal states. A feature of awareness is the ability to record, synopsize, tag and store episodic memories. With awareness there may or may not be self consciousness. However the organism will be able to respond to changes in its environment.
• Sentience: Derivative from the concept of sense. As in possessing sufficient sensorial apparatus to intercept states and developments in the real world such as temperature, light, chemical odors and acoustic patterns.
• World Model: The ability to create an abstract representation of an external reality. This model postulates that the sentient agent can further create a self-model that is an actor in this external world model and can interact or otherwise affect state in the world model. But also very importantly that events in the world model can give rise to events that can affect the agent. These events can be either adaptively positive or entail adverse risk.
• Emergence: experimenters and developers report observing a working system exhibit properties that had not heretofore been programmed in; they "emerge" from the innate capabilities of the system;
• Alignment: the imperative of imparting "guard rails" or otherwise limitations on what an artificial intelligence system can be allowed to do;
• Hallucinations. CG4 has produced results to queries wherein it created references that superficially look legitimate but upon closer inspection prove to be nonexistent.
  
  
  

• Theory of Mind: In order for a species to build a society, successful socialization processes between members of a species is fundamental. Development of a society requires that family members develop means of communicating needs and wants with each other. When this step is successful then collections of families can aggregate into clans. The basic is that each member develop a means of formulating or otherwise formalizing representations of their own mental and physical state. The key step forward is to be able to attribute comparable representations to others. When this step is successful then a theory of mind can crystallize. Intentions, wants and needs can then be represented. Intentions, wants and needs can then be used to develop plans. The more sophisticated the representation of self-state the more refined the clan's adaptive success will be.
  A recent paper on Theory Of Mind has illuminated this topic and is worth perusing to see how advances in the user interface experience will develop going forward. It is worth noting that ascribing belief to the user's state of knowledge is a crucial factor. This topic is crucial in understanding false beliefs, how they are recognized and responded to. We can imagine that during an interaction session that CG4 or a derivative descendant might have one or more autonomous agents operating to address this exact question, moment by moment.

Overview and Summary so far. If we step back for a moment and summarize what some observers have had to say about this new capability then we might tentatively start with that:

• is based upon and is a refinement of its predecessor, the Chat GPT 3.5 system;
• has been developed using the generative predictive transformer (GPT) model;
• has been trained on a very large data set including textual material that can be found on the internet; unconfirmed rumors suggest that it has been trained on 1 trillion parameters;
• is capable of sustaining conversational interaction using text based input provided by a user;
• can provide contextually relevant and consistent responses;
• can link topics in a chronologically consistent manner and refer back to them in current prompt requests;
• is a Large Language Models that uses prediction as the basis of its actions;
• uses deep learning neural networks and very large training data sets;
• uses a SAAS model; like Google Search, Youtube or Morningstar Financial;

Interim Observations and Conclusions.

• this technology will continue to introduce novel, unpredictable and disruptive risks;
• a range of dazzling possibilities that will emerge that will be beneficial to broad swathes of society;
• some voices express urgent action to preclude catastrophic outcomes;
• informed geopolitical observers urge accelerated action to further refine and advance the technology lest our rivals and adversaries eclipse us with their accomplishments;
• heretofore unforeseen societal realignments seem to be inevitable;
• recent advances in the physical embodiment of these tools represent a phase shift moment in history, a before-after transition;

At this point we note that we have:

• reviewed CG4’s capabilities;
• taken note of insights offered by informed observers;
• presented a thumbnail sketch of how CG4 operates;
• examined the primary risk dimensions and offered a few examples;
• suggested some intermediate notes and conclusions;

By way of summarization some observers say that CG4:
is:

• a narrow artificial intelligence;
• an extension of Chat GPT 3.5 capabilities;
• a sophisticated cognitive appliance or prosthetic;
• based upon Generative Predictive Transformer (GPT) model; performs predictive modeling;
• a world wide web 24/7 accessible SAAS;

can:

• converse:
  • explain its responses
  • self critique and improve own responses;
  • responses are relevant, consistent and topically associated;
  • summarize convoluted documents or stories and explain difficult abstract questions
  • calibrate its response style to resemble known news presenters or narrators;
  • understand humor
  • convincingly accurate responses to queries suggests the need for a New Turing Test;
• reason:
  • about spatial relationships, performing mathematical reasoning;
  • write music and poems
  • reason about real world phenomena from source imagery;
  • grasp the intent of programming code debug, write, improve and explanatory documentation;
  • understand and reason about abstract questions
  • translate English text to other languages and responding in one hundred languages
  • score in the 90% level on the SAT, Bar and Medical Exams

has:

• demonstrated competencies will disruptively encroach upon current human professional competencies;
• knowledge base, training data sets had 2021 cutoff date;
• very large training data set (books, internet content (purported to be in excess of 1 trillion parameters);
• no theory of mind capability (at present) - future versions might offer it;
• no consciousness, sentience, intentionality, motivation or self reflectivity are all lacking;
• earlier short term memory; current subscription token limit is 32k (Aug 2023);
• show novel emergent behavior; observers are concerned that it might acquire facility for deception;
• shown ability to extemporize response elements that do not actually exist (hallucinates);
• shown indications that a derivative (CG5 or later) might exhibit artificial general intelligence (AGI);

Intermediate Summary

• Trajectory. Advances in current artificial intelligence systems have been happening at almost break-neck speed. New capabilities have been emerging which had been thought to not be possible for several more years. The most recent developments in the guise of autonomous agents as of September 2023 strongly suggest that a new iteration of capabilities will shortly emerge that will cause the whole playing field to restructure itself all over again. Major driving factors that will propel events forward include:
  • Autonomous agent based ensembles. This area is developing very quickly and should be monitored closely. The impact of this development will usher in a qualitative change in terms of what systems based upon large language models are capable of doing.
  • Quantum Computing. The transition to quantum computing will eclipse everything known in terms of how computing based solutions are used and the kinds of problems that will migrate into the zone of solubility and tractability. Problems that are currently beyond the scope of von Neuman based computational tools will shortly become accessible. The set of possible new capabilities and insights will be profound and can not be guessed at as of this writing in September 2023. Passing the boundary layer between von Neuman based architectures and combined von Neuman and quantum modalities will come to be viewed as a before-after even in history. The difference in capabilities will rival the taming of fire, the invention of writing and the acquisition of agriculture. The risks will likewise be great. The means that rivals will be able to disrupt each other's societies and economies can not be guessed at. In short we should expect a period of turbulence unlike anything seen so far in recorded history.
  • Extended Cognitive Processing Models. Ongoing work in how to determine if consciousness can be synthesized into something operable is ongoing and will increase in terms of salience going forward. The notion that a machine can plausibly exhibit consciousness is a topic that goes back centuries. The more recent attempts at guessing the implications of this prospect range from the earlier Space Odyssey's HAL9000 machine to the more recent variants of "Her" and "Ex Machina". Should this pathway forward yield results then answers to major questions will become imperative. Further, the inherent risks associated with a conscious entity capable of operating at electronic or quantum speeds carries profound implications.

• Concerns. Informed and knowledgeable observers have expressed a range of positions ranging from very favorable to panic. In many cases these positions have been highly localized and limited to events and developments within the US. In others the focus has been on the realities of geopolitics and the presence of determined rivals.
  The very brief sampling of positions thus far is very limited. Going forward we should expect many more voices to join the debate. Some informed observers have already petitioned central government law makers to be more attentive and take note of the rapid pace of developments.

• Risks. Responding to the picture as is in evidence so far strongly suggests that the last major risk category be included, i.e. hypothetical risks. With this full set available it should be possible to offer a preliminary assessment of how risks will manifest. What we can observe is that this is a new technology and it will exhibit applications and consequences comparable to those that have gone before. Specifically this means that there will be groups that benefit from its availability as well as those who will be victimized by it. Only time will tell as more cases are brought to light.