Re:Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism (...
by p1esk on Sunday May 07, 2023 @11:16PM
(#35857688)
Note that GPT-4, having been trained on data until 09/21, doesn’t know anything about quality of GPT-4 answers. It’s nothing like television.
Re:Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism (...
by majormajor on Monday May 08, 2023 @12:42AM
(#35858170)
If someone thought Chat GPT, giving them 5 paragraphs in a handful of seconds on what Postman might have said, is a substitute for reading Postman's original texts and doing their own critical thinking to come to their own conclusion?
Sounds a hell of a lot like television depth-wise and critical-thinking-replacement-wise to me. An appeal to the quality of the alternative-to-doing-your-own-research-and-thinking doesn't sound like something that would resonate.
Re:Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism (...
by p1esk on Monday May 08, 2023 @08:36AM
(#35860871)
You got it backwards: reading books is a lot more like television than interacting with GPT-4. Why do you assume one would apply more critical thinking when reading Postman's original texts than when reading GPT-4 writings about them? I'm starting to think you haven't spent much time with GPT-4. The quality is the key here.
Re:Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism (...
by majormajor on Monday May 08, 2023 @12:37PM
(#35863694)
It's the difference between wanting an easy answer to a question and wanting information to process on your own. You would have to apply critical thinking when reading Postman's texts to know what he might think about GPT-4 because he never actually wrote about it directly.
The prompt here wasn't something like "give me summaries of Postman's writings so that I can draw my own conclusions about what he would think," it was "tell me what to believe." It's the action and approach that matters.
Re:Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism (...
by p1esk on Monday May 08, 2023 @04:07PM
(#35866385)
Ok, sure, but how is this different from talking to humans?
Re:Neil Postman: A civilized man in a century of barbarism (...
by majormajor on Monday May 08, 2023 @04:31PM
(#35866674)
I don't think Postman would've had much patience for the person who says "I heard it from a dude in a bar so it has to be true" either...
### What would Neil Postman say about people using ChatGPT?
> While I cannot speak directly for Neil Postman, I can offer an analysis based on his ideas and writings. Postman was a media theorist, cultural critic, and author who was primarily concerned with the impact of technology on society and culture. In his book "Amusing Ourselves to Death," Postman argued that television had transformed public discourse into entertainment and negatively impacted the quality of communication.
> With regards to ChatGPT, Postman might have several concerns:
> 1. Trivialization of communication: Postman could argue that ChatGPT, like television, contributes to the trivialization of communication by offering quick, easily-digestible responses instead of encouraging deep thought, reflection, and meaningful conversation.
> 2. Reliance on technology: Postman might worry that people would become overly reliant on AI-generated responses, which could lead to a decline in critical thinking skills and a loss of the ability to engage in nuanced conversations.
> 3. Shallow knowledge: ChatGPT provides a vast amount of information, but the depth and accuracy of that information might be questionable. Postman would likely worry that people might not question the sources or validity of the information provided by ChatGPT, leading to a society with shallow knowledge.
> 4. Impact on literacy and reading habits: Postman might be concerned that using ChatGPT could further contribute to a decline in reading habits and literacy, as people increasingly turn to AI-generated answers instead of books and other long-form texts.
> 5. Loss of human connection: Postman could argue that relying on AI-generated responses for communication could erode genuine human connection and empathy, as people may become more comfortable talking to machines than to each other.
> However, it is also possible that Postman might appreciate some aspects of ChatGPT, such as its potential to democratize access to information and facilitate learning. It's important to remember that this analysis is speculative, and Postman's actual opinion on ChatGPT is unknown.