Before we resume with Part 2 of ‘Maelstrom Escape Strategies’, scheduled for tomorrow, An event this week seems to require a McLuhan response: namely, the release of GPT-4.
I think ‘release’ is an interesting term. For me, it invokes the animal (or bacteriological) kingdom, or ancient stories like that of Pandora and her box.
In any case, it happened. Chris Perry of Perspective Agents published ‘To Serve and Protect,’ his conversation with GPT-4 at its moment of release, and some thoughts on it, and I’ve made some observations which I’m sharing here.
I took some of their conversation for direct comment, sharing what I felt was relevant quotes of Marshall McLuhan’s which have some bearing, and ventured a few thoughts of my own.
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RESPONSE: A Q&A With GPT-4
Andrew McLuhan
March 15 2023
“It is obvious that the user or content of any medium is completely conformed to the character of this man-made environment. His entire sensory life arranges its hierarchies and dominance in accordance with the environment in which he operates."
--Marshall McLuhan 1970
Any human technology has so-called ‘unintended consequences.’ There are the things we design a technology for, then there are the actual results. The history of the last century in particular has been one of being constantly bombarded by the unintended results which always add up to outweigh the initial intended (thus dubious) benefits. Labor-saving devices which create more work than they relieve.
“For the “content” of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.”
— Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, 1964
As impressive as our technological output is, our foresight as to what will be the actual consequences of any given technology (intended or otherwise) is staggeringly unimpressive.
The actual human effects of technologies come not from the content but the form, the structure, as it creates a new environment on top of the exiting one, remaking us individually and collectively in its image or structure.
For example, consider the effect of Zoom post-Covid. Incredibly quickly, all sort of existing human work and social association moved online. The actual effect of that had little to do with whether a Zoom call was for a ‘productive’ work meeting or whether you and I chatted for a half-hour about politics or gossip. That is the content. While we were busy having those conversations, our actions were being restructured, as we were being restructured as well.
It is important to note that each structure has its unique biases. In human terms, we call these biases ‘values.’ These values rarely survive contact with new structures, and create a tension which is a sort of structural/cultural dissonance as the incompatible features meet and react.
You might think of these as culturally existential threats.
Of interest, if not surprise, to note is that GPT-4 does not have a subtle or nuanced understanding of ‘existential risk’ or ‘humanity’s survival,’ but it reflects the popular narrow-minded definitions because it does not identify ‘formal cause’, or the environment or structure as a cause.
“the development of advanced artificial general intelligence (AGI) without proper safety measures could pose risks, including unintended consequences, misuse, and the possibility of AGI systems becoming misaligned with human values”
--GPT-4 to Chris Perry, March 14 2023
This is not a possibility but a certainty given the lack of understanding by creators and consequently their instruments to anything beyond the content level.
Given that ‘human values’ are generally the result of preferences developed from immersion in structural realities, major changes in those structures, such as those which are certain from GPT-4, will most certainly ‘misalign.’ It’s not a question of ‘possibility.’ This phrasing again demonstrates the lack of understanding of actual human effects of technologies.
Importantly, we’re dealing with technologies whose scale and pace of development and adoption into human society are at a level unseen and almost unimagined. Their potential for irreversible change is staggering, and global in scale. While in previous generations, technological progress began in one centre and gradually radiated out in time and space, with the internet and today’s platforms, the entire world is the ‘one centre.’
“Once a new medium comes into a social milieu it cannot cease to permeate that milieu until every institution is saturated.”
--McLuhan, 1964
These are not products we can recall or pull from shelves once we’ve realized their ‘unintended consequences.’ With the scale and speed we have today, by the time we realize what we’ve done, it’s too late for that.
The primary danger I can identify is that the people behind these products and services are on balance well-meaning. The danger is that good intentions don’t necessarily mean good results. You could say that ‘the road to hell is paved with good inventions.’
We cannot account for what we do not anticipate.
“True social and political naviagation depend upon anticipating the consequences of innovation.”
--McLuhan, 1964
When we focus on content at the expense of structure, we focus on 10% of the active problems while ignoring the 90% (the structure, environment) that has most of the shaping power.
To be focused on uses generally means to be ignoring the structure, the environment which is being created and its role as an individual (sensory, identity) and social (cultural) shaping force.
Any talk of ‘developed and managed responsibly’ of ‘proper oversight’ of ‘safety measures’ are likewise directed at the small and obvious ‘content’ at the neglect of the larger and largely invisible form or structure or environment which is being created.
“While it’s true that AI language models are being used by millions of people globally, it’s essential to differentiate between large-scale deployment and a social experiment.”
--GPT-4 to Chris Perry, March 14 2023
Given the lack of understanding and attention to the 90% area of structural effect, there is no difference at this point between deploying an AI model which is being used by millions of people globally, and deploying a global social experiment. That is exactly what it is.
Chat GPT-4 / Open AI assuring us that “OpenAI is committed to the responsible development and deployment of AI systems, and they actively work on incorporating user feedback and addressing any unintended consequences that may arise.” (GPT-4 to Chris Perry, March 14 2023) Falls very flat with this understanding that the majority of consequences will be unintended, necessarily, because no attention is being paid to the formal character of the technology.
What we have is unquestionably a massive, global, social experiment offered as a service. We are expected to be grateful.
From Chris’s conversation with GPT-4 it indicates they have primary concern for content in their talk of ‘misuse.’ There is no apparent awareness that the structure itself, when it meets and transforms existing culture, could itself be characterized as ‘misuse’ in its misalignment with current human values.
Another point is that GPT-4 acts as if its non-emotional, uninvolved character is an asset rather than a liability, when in fact, most of what we value about humanity is dependent on empathy, which requires sophisticated emotional understanding and involvement. A global structure with the heart of a machine rather than a human being cannot but be at odds with human flourishing.
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We resume Maelstrom Escape Strategies tomorrow with Part Two.
Also: Sign up for Understanding Media Intensive Part Three (UMI3) beginning next Thursday. Details and Registration at Gray Area
Take care,
Andrew McLuhan
I asked chatGPT to write a poem about marshall mcLuhan, media study, GPT-4 and the maelstrom. Here's the answer:
Marshall McLuhan, a media sage,
Proposed ideas that are still all the rage,
The medium is the message, he said,
Our understanding of it, ever spread.
In his time, TV was the new wave,
But today, AI is what we crave,
GPT-4, the newest in town,
Will it bring us up, or take us down?
The maelstrom of media, swirling around,
With information lost, and truth unfound,
McLuhan's theories still hold so true,
In a world where media's vast and new.
The medium itself, a message profound,
Transforming culture, with each new sound,
The maelstrom swirls, as GPT-4 looms,
With power and potential, like a sonic boom.
But amidst the chaos, let us not forget,
McLuhan's wisdom, a guiding net,
To navigate the seas of media deep,
And in its maelstrom, our values keep.
For media's power, we cannot ignore,
Its impact felt, like never before,
But with McLuhan's insights in hand,
We can steer a course, toward a brighter land.
MetaProbe : "#Electricity is a massive, global, social experiment offered as a service"