Altman: You say you’re making a return to Greece after a long while away?
Socrates: I have resolved to do so; it has been quite a while. When I was here last, Athens was the heart of wisdom for Greece. A place where men of standing reasoned, through the use of their own divine faculties, to reach for truth.
Altman: I think the world now may have strayed away from Athens, but it is still reaching out for the truth like Athens once did.
Socrates: Athens was a city that once fostered wisdom. One cannot reach truth without wisdom. If you say the world still seeks truth, at what place is wisdom fostered?
Altman: I think the physical world is no longer a constraint on where wisdom can be found. In reality, wisdom and human knowledge generally were constrained by the existence of intellectual nexuses like Athens. It limits who can be a part of the conversation. If a person wasn’t in Athens, their thoughts on truth would be dampened or lost entirely. I think nowadays we as a society have opened the door to more voices.
Socrates: Most intriguing, how were these doors opened, and further, if not in the city how else can one make their voice be heard?
Altman: Obviously the Internet gave the masses a voice. And even now we’re working to enhance humanities collective voice, whether it was spoken in the past or present. Artificial Intelligence is the newest and most groundbreaking way the voice of the masses can be heard.
Socrates: Well do not be short now, explain what it does to express this voice.
Altman: On a superficial level, Artificial Intelligence is a predictive— how would I put it for you to understand, it’s like a predictive formula. A person will train the formula with vast amounts of information. If possible, it would use all the information ever generated by humanity. This would include everything ever written: books, poems, plays, and everything in between. When I say we train the formula, I mean the idea that the AI will gain a lexicon of words, letters, and phrases to store away in its own brain of sorts. Everything stored in its brain will be weighted based on the patterns it recognizes. For example, the word ‘red’ would be recognized as an adjective used to describe a thing more often than it is a noun used to identify a thing. It would give weighted scores to all kinds of patterns like that which form the parameters of the AI. With more and more data, the model can train to fine-tune the parameters and expand them, eventually being able to understand the context of a sentence and predict what could come next. So collectively, the AI takes shape from all the ideas and words that have been created by humanity, but it cannot create of its own accord, not yet at least.
Socrates: I must proclaim, that is a remarkable advancement in reflective apparatuses. I too like to go to a pond and admire my figure on its surface. Given the chance, sometimes I peer at my face in a mirror and recognize a part of myself in its reflection.
Altman: I’m not sure I understand you, this a computational program, far beyond anything you saw in Athens.
Socrates: Whether it be by a reflection in a pond or in a mirror, if you see your face, you will not see something unexpected right? You simply see your face, or at least a representation of your face. I doubt the face you see in the mirror can be touched and prodded at like the one attached to your neck. That face you see in the mirror is a mere imitation of what is, no?
Altman: If I understand you right, you’re saying that AI is a simple reproduction of what a human can do? I don’t think I would stray too far from that interpretation; I don’t think AI could replace the human touch. I think it would be no different from a chisel and hammer, but I do acknowledge some people will try to use it as a replacement for human interaction.
Socrates: I worry about relying upon a mirror for anything beyond a simple task. A mirror is useful for wiping dirt off one’s face, but it is a poor way for someone to find their worth and beauty. This tool you have told me about could have its own value, but to have it replace true investigation of virtue and form would get no closer to the truth of the world than if I took a mirror everywhere with me and said I could show you all things in the universe. All I would have to do is place any object in front of the mirror, and I too have made a sophist tool that can show people the truth of all objects.
Altman: I think I understand what you’re saying. Real wisdom cannot be found in something reflective or imitative such as AI, or a mirror for that matter. I should be honest and express a certain level of agreement. For example, I think AI users will always be drawn to human authenticity and AI will never give them that authenticity they desire. There is something different when you know you are speaking to a real person. If I had to guess, your ideas of wisdom and truth relate in some way to my idea of human authenticity.
Socrates: Then continue you blessed man, if we are to truly reach the end of the argument, tell me what human authenticity means. Do not shy away now.
Altman: I’m really sorry, that’s not an answer I can give you. I don’t know what makes human interaction more authentic and desired rather than interactions with AI. It may become glaring, as AI becomes more prevalent, what is special about human companionship. Only time will tell.
Socrates: You divine man, I wish I could speak more to you because I believe the discussion of human authenticity deserves a pious defense; I think one may find the answer hidden in the faculties bestowed upon us by the gods. But now it is time for me to finally return to Athens, and you to return to your city; for me to gather dust, and you to further innovate. The path which leads to true wisdom may not yet be clear.
AgoraLogica 
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