PATTAYA, Thailand – On December 6, 2023 Brad Melrose gave an interesting presentation to the Pattaya City Expats Club on Artificial Intelligence – What is it anyway? One of the things Brad pointed out is that AI (Artificial Intelligence) isn’t magic or a computer thinking like a human. AI is simply an algorithm that takes some input, performs some sort of a calculation, and then provides the output, nothing more. The most common form of input is the NLM (Natural Language Model). This allows the user to make their request as though they were talking to a human. The AI then processes the request and generates the output.
One of the more common AIs is ChatGPT. ChatGPT takes NLM input, processes it with its training database, and then provides NLM output. ChatGPT generates the output based upon what was provided with the input and what information it has in its training database. It should be noted that ChatGPT will make stuff up if it doesn’t have the information in its database. A good example of this was a party game Brad suggested: Ask ChatGPT to write your biography. For even more fun have it write your obituary. The more information you provide the more accurate the output will be. Providing wrong information as input can be extremely entertaining. It is important to verify anything produced by ChatGPT as it’s possible that the answer you get is fabricated from fiction. Brad also pointed out that he used ChatGPT to author the bulk of his presentation.
Brad described 15 common types of AI applications:
- Language Models
- Image and Video Processing
- Audio Processing
- Generative Models
- Personal Assistants
- Recommendation Systems
- Healthcare Applications
- Autonomous Vehicles
- Finance and Trading
- Gaming
- Education
- Robotics
- Deep Fakes
- Cybersecurity
- Weather Prediction
AI is used in all of the above examples to either improve the speed at which the results can be obtained or to make it easier for humans to get those results. Healthcare is a good example where AI can be used to diagnose problems, discover new drugs, or provide patient support.
Some of the more interesting features of AI was to generate output in the form of pictures or video. By simply describing the type of picture you want to an AI, the image can be generated, and the output can be indistinguishable from a photograph taken by a real camera. AI can also be used to enhance photographs to make them better than the original.
One of the most dangerous things AI can be used for is evil. A good example of this is Deep Fakes. A Deep Fake is where a video is created of somebody, saying and/or doing something. It is almost impossible to tell if a video is real and the person was actually recorded or if the video is a Deep Fake and entirely fabricated by AI. This is very dangerous as news stories can be published to look exactly like the real thing saying whatever the creator decided. Politicians can been seen to be saying anything the creator wanted them to say, even if they would never say it themselves, and there is no easy way to tell that it’s a fake video.
Brad described many of the uses of AI and the potential for what can be done today, both for good and evil. The video of Brad’s presentation is on the PCEC YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/LlGZd7x9-Kw and worth a watch if you are at all interested in the technology.
After the presentation, The MC brought everyone up to date on upcoming events and conducted Open Forum portion of the meeting where the audience can ask questions or make comments about Expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya. To learn more about the PCEC, visit their website at https:/pcec.club.
