Using AI ‘superpowers’ to foster and promote true human connection

For many years, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) was seen as a distant concern, something to worry about in the future.

However, we’ve already seen how AI tools are being used successfully to harvest our focus and attention. Social media platforms, with endless scroll and advertisement models being optimised by AI to keep us glued to our apps and screens. The more we engage, the more data we generate about what interests us, and the more valuable we become as a target for advertisers.

Social media has become an AI-powered social slot machine, with algorithms designed to keep us hooked, scrolling, and clicking.

It’s easy to be pessimistic about the role of AI in our lives, especially when we see how it is being used to manipulate us on a social media level. But it’s also hard to see technology ever replacing our need for true human connection. My recent teaching experiences have led me to believe; we can use these newfound superpowers to help us connect.

Generate conversation

We recently conducted a workshop with some teenagers using GPT-3 and witnessed something amazing. Instead of being a tool for distraction and manipulation, the AI was being used as a tool for connection. During the activity, we used it to generate conversation topics, write stories, tell jokes, even create a basic video game.

The prompts were unique and unexpected, sparking hilarious conversations that might not have happened otherwise. It created a

By Kane Stewart

shared experience none of us will ever forget. This event led me to think about the potential for this technology to help us connect in other meaningful ways. Instead of seeing AI as a threat to human connection, we could see it as a tool to nurture people’s creativity. We’ve been using it as a tool to build creative confidence in our students, so they feel like they can create anything.

Creative potential

If you’re looking for an AI lesson to run in your classroom, try using an art tool called Dream by Wombo (dream.ai) to expose students to the creative potential at their fingertips. Or see who can get Chat-GPT3 to write the most comedic script (it tells amazing Dad jokes).

Despite the potential benefits of AI, there are clear concerns. Tools like DeepFake make it possible to fake someone’s identity online. It is going to be ever harder to differentiate what is true. As such, it is crucial to educate students on the implications of such technology.

Recent AI developments are just another reminder that the future is already here. We just need to be mindful of how our future generations are using this new technology. Are they using it to be creators or consumers?

True human connections are ever more important in a digitally-fuelled world. With the right approach and mindset, AI could help us to have more authentic and meaningful interactions, rather than just keeping us glued to our screens.

Kane Stewart is founder of Egg Academy (eggacademy.co.nz).

What is a chatbot?

This is a computer program that simulates human conversation (either written or spoken), allowing people to interact with digital devices as if they were communicating with a real person. They can be as simple as a basic program that answers a basic query with a single-line response, or as sophisticated as digital assistants that ‘learn’ to deliver increasing levels of personalisation as they gather and process information.

Meet ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot. Developed by OpenAI, it lets you type natural-language prompts to which it offers conversational responses, answers questions, and assists with tasks such as composing emails and writing essays. ChatGPT is currently free to use and despite only being released last November, already has more than 100 million users.

Go to chat.openai.com, create an OpenAI account and start chatting.

ChatGPT v GPT2 v GPT3?

These are variations on the same technological theme, each offering different capabilities and limitations. And if you were wondering, GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer.

OpenAI is also responsible for creating AI art generator DALL-E 2. More on page 30.