Is Generative AI Becoming a Religion?

Lack of certainty about the future of this technology is dividing the world into zealots and sceptics. Moderates seem harder to come by nowadays.

My position on generative AI is best described as moderate. I have no doubt that recent developments and releases have transformed what it is possible to create without any form of human involvement, but I am also acutely aware of the current shortcomings of generative AI, the risks it poses and the uncertainties surrounding its future development.

As someone who posts frequently on social media about analytics, data science and AI topics, I am noticing a trend when I post about generative AI which I don’t see when I post about other topics like statistics or methods. I am seeing a greater level of anger and intolerance in response to any suggestion that models like chatGPT may not ascend to be the only dominant technology of the next 30 years or so. Why are such strong feelings being evoked on this topic?

My moderate position on generative AI

I was in the earliest group of people to try out chatGPT when it was released last year. I was amazed. Having experimented a lot with prior incarnations like GPT-3, there was a huge uplift in the…