Did ChatGPT Write this Episode?

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The Ten News Season 3: Episode 52

In today's episode: 🤖 Correspondent Ryan Nerz breaks down everything we need to know about AI & ChatGPT 🔮 Mick Sullivan, from kids' history podcast 'The Past and The Curious,' shares what AI might mean for the future 💸 Trivia with ChatGPT: Google Bard got an answer wrong about the James Webb telescope & which cost Google billions but do you know how much?

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TRANSCRIPT:

Tessa Flannery  00:02

Pete, if you adjust this here and change that line of code... 

Pete Musto  00:07

I don't know. Do you really think that will work?

Tessa Flannery  00:13

Yes, we did it!

Ryan Willard  00:15

What the Willard is happening here? Are you playing video games without me?

Tessa Flannery  00:18

Pete and I have been working on our very own Ten News AI bot.

Pete Musto  00:22

It should be able to do anything. Search for facts, write news stories, it might even be able to host! 

Tessa Flannery  00:29

Check it out. Hey, TenGPT. Can you write us a script for The Ten News podcast?

TenGPT  00:37

Sure, Tessa, I can help you with that. Can you please provide me with some information on the topic you want to cover in the new script?

Ryan Willard  00:43

Wait, what? Pamela, help! The robots are trying to take our jobs. 

Pamela Kirkland  00:49

What's happening? Are you okay? 

Ryan Willard  00:52

AI wants to replace me. We have to fight the robots. Our future is in peril. We are the resistance.

Pamela Kirkland  01:00

Yeah, maybe we should talk about this stuff on the show. I'm Pamela Kirkland.

Ryan Willard  01:06

And I'm Ryan Willard, an actual human, not a robot. It's Wednesday, April 19th.

Pamela Kirkland  01:11

This is The Ten News.

Sound Bit  01:14

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Ryan Willard  01:22

A lot of people are talking about AI aka artificial intelligence. And more specifically, there's a lot of talk about ChatGPT. But what exactly is ChatGPT.

Pamela Kirkland  01:32

It's an artificial intelligence language processing tool. You can have conversations with ChatGPT. And it can help you write emails or code, or episodes of The Ten News.

Ryan Willard  01:45

It's the end of civilization as we know it.

Pamela Kirkland  01:48

There are a lot of big feelings about AI that ChatGPT sparked. So we asked our correspondent Ryan Nerz, to dive right into it.

Ryan Nerz  02:02

Once upon a time, there were some kids who love to learn new things. They had questions about everything from science and history to animals and space. One day, they heard about a magical machine called ChatGPT, which can answer any questions they had in a matter of seconds. They were curious and excited to try it out. So they asked their parents if they could use it. Their parents explained that chat GPT was a special machine that could understand and respond to human language. It was like having a super smart robot friend who knew everything about everything. The kids were thrilled to hear this and couldn't wait to meet ya. So, does that little fairy tale make you thrilled to meet ChatGPT? Well, guess what? You just met him, or her or it? Anyway, that's because all the words you just heard were written by ChatGPT about ChatGPT. And that's not just because I'm extremely lazy, but because technologies like ChatGPT are going to change all of our lives. So, what exactly is ChatGPT?

TenGPT  03:16

ChatGPT is a computer program that can understand or write text, like a human.

Ryan Nerz  03:21

Couldn't have said it better myself. And just so you know, every time I use my chatbot voice like this, I am your robot friend. Those words were written by AI. Wow. All right. So to break it down a little bit further. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence or AI platform that uses massive amounts of information taken from the internet, and also from millions of ChatGPT users like me to basically write anything not so different from our human brains. ChatGPT is programmed to learn from all this data, and basically get smarter. It's already learned to plan vacations, translate languages, write complex computer code, and pass the same bar exam you would have to take to become a lawyer or in this case, a tourney. And maybe you've heard about ChatGPT but you may not know it already has competition.

Google Bard  04:27

I am Bard. I am enlarging my language model, also known as a conversational AI for a chatbot that is owned by Google.

Ryan Nerz  04:37

Oh, hey, Bard. Nice to meet you, man. From my experience, hate to say it, but you're a little more boring and maybe even a little dumber than ChatGPT. But that's probably just because you haven't been around as long so you've just learned less anyway, you'll catch up. I mean, there are already hundreds of AI tech platforms out there doing amazing things like scheduling point minutes creating company logos, detecting gunshots and illnesses, playing chess and poker, and even tracking people's emotions.

TenGPT  05:16

As an AI language model, I don't have the capability to track human emotions or any personal information.

Ryan Nerz  05:24

All right, all right, calm down. I'm not talking about you ChatGPT. I don't want to give you a big head. But ever since you were introduced on November 30 of 2022, the world has gone mad for all things AI ChatGPT hit a million users in one week. And investments in generative AI like ChatGPT have gone up 425% In the last two years. Wow. But all the buzz hasn't been positive. Many experts say AI poses dangerous privacy risks. It could perpetuate racism by generalizing about people, and scariest of all, they might cost workers their jobs, leading to greater unemployment. But more relevant to kids like you is the widespread fear that students can use AI to write essays and cheat on exams. In fact, ChatGPT has already been banned in New York City public schools.

TenGPT  06:21

I am programmed to assist with learning and provide helpful information. But I am designed to encourage academic integrity and discourage any actions that violate ethical standards, including cheating.

Ryan Nerz  06:35

Right, anyway, ChatGPT and other AI platforms can be extremely useful. You should use them to help you learn but not to do the work for you. Then again, maybe I'm not the greatest example here. Well, the fact remains AI technology is here to stay. And there's no doubt it's going to change the world as we know it. It could revolutionize healthcare, transportation, education, entertainment, you know what, ChatGPT I'm just gonna leave it to you to tell them what you're gonna do.

TenGPT  07:08

AI is like the superhero of the tech world, ready to save the day by making things faster, smarter, and cooler, from curing diseases to creating awesome video games and making the world a lit and dope place to be.

Ryan Willard  07:24

Thanks, Ryan Nerz. That was very helpful, though a little scary. So ChatGPT isn't necessarily the end of civilization?

Pamela Kirkland  07:32

Well, that remains to be seen. AI is definitely going to change our lives in lots of ways. We're just not exactly sure how yet.

Ryan Willard  07:43

Such uncertainty, waiting to see how AI affects us is such sweet sorrow.

Tessa Flannery  07:52

Hello, human children. How do you feel about artificial intelligence and ChatGPT? We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a message.

Ryan Willard  07:59

Hey, stop it. This is my job. Hey, Ten'ers, how do you feel about artificial intelligence and ChatGPT? It obviously freaks me out a little, but we'd love to hear your thoughts about it. Leave us a voice message at 877-TEN-NEWS.

TenGPT  08:15

And we might just have you on the show.

Ryan Willard  08:16

I said stop that TenGPT. I need to know what AI is going to mean for the future. Will I have a job if the TenGPT starts writing The Ten News?

Pamela Kirkland  08:27

I can tell this is freaking you out a little, Ryan. And you're not alone. Over time, lots of new developments in technology have caused fear. But disruption isn't always a bad thing. Some people are worried about losing their jobs to AI. Some think it will fundamentally change our society. So let's talk to an expert, an expert in the future. More like an expert in the past who can tell us about big developments that changed our everyday lives. Mick Sullivan from kids’ history podcast The Past and The Curious is here in the Ten News studio.

Mick Sullivan  09:06

Hello, everyone. I'm Mick Sullivan. And as the host and creator of The Past and The Curious history podcast for kids and families. I typically spend my time looking backward in time rather than far into the future, or even at the present day. So I'm probably not the guy to ask about how AI will change our world in the years ahead of us all. Most historians agree. It's very difficult to understand history. In the moment while it's actually happening. You need some hindsight. But, you know, when it comes to technology, we can learn a lot about it from the past, especially the people of the past. Let me ask you a question. How do you think people felt about the automobile when it was brand new? Once cars started motoring down public roads, it was probably pretty clear that the world was changing. Sure, there were a few people who said cars were a passing fad and those People were clearly superduper wrong. But do you think the general public was excited? Maybe some were scared by the speed and the noise. But by and large, I'd say people were pretty stoked about the idea of cruising the country in a coupe. But what about the people who made horse-drawn wagons for a living? I bet they weren't excited. They were probably super worried and could see that this new technology was about to put them out of business. That problem of being replaced is certainly not specific to wagon makers. Some people felt the same way and worried when new technologies like trains, the printing press, telephones, the internet, and just about any other major development, you can name first came around. Yeah, it was unfortunate for some of these people involved to lose their jobs, which did happen. But as we know, people can adapt, if nothing else. And with those new cars came all sorts of new opportunities. People had to pave new and more roads for cars, those are jobs. People had to learn how to fix cars, those are jobs, people opened restaurants near roadways, knickknacks, doors by the beach, and even drive-in movie theaters. All because the car made its debut at the turn of the 20th century, which is a fancy way to say the 1900s. Nobody could have seen that coming. There's a term people throw around when they want to say that they don't understand technology. People might say, Oh, I don't understand that new device. I'm a Luddite. Luddites were real people. But it's not that they didn't understand technology. They were workers in England who made things like stockings for a living. And they were against technology because they didn't want to be replaced by machines. So they revolted and broke the machines. Did it work? No, it didn't work. Factories still use the machines they do today, productivity increased and people adapted. So perhaps it will be the same way with artificial intelligence. We really have no idea what the future will bring. Will it open up opportunities, replace old jobs, and create new jobs that we never imagined? I can't say. But maybe someone making history podcast in the future will be able to look back and help us make sense of it someday. I only hope it's a real person making the podcast and not artificial intelligence.

Ryan Willard  12:25

Thanks, Mick. So just like when computers were invented, or trains or cars or the printing press, new technology means changes to our everyday lives. Right. And those changes aren't necessarily bad, right? And the world might not come to an end with the robots taking over and humans living underground and in secret bunkers until we eventually launch an attack on our AI overlords hack their mainframe and win back the surface.

Pamela Kirkland  12:51

What a specific worry. I don't think we're there yet, Ry.

Ryan Willard  12:55

Whew! I'll press pause on building my bunker.

TenGPT  12:58

It's time for trivia.

Ryan Willard  12:59

Pam, it's doing things we didn't ask it to do again.

Pamela Kirkland  13:03

Let's just see what it does.

Tessa Flannery  13:09

I'm telling you, Ry. TenGPT might save us a lot of time. I'm gonna let it do trivia today.

Ryan Willard  13:14

I don't trust this but okay. 

TenGPT  13:16

Welcome to the room of trivia questions.

Ryan Willard  13:18

No, it's already wrong. Shut it down, Tessa.

Tessa Flannery  13:21

Hey, TenGPT my new pal. How are you?

TenGPT  13:25

Please, hop on up on the trivia toilet for today's trivia question. You ready? 

Tessa Flannery  13:30

It's the trivia thrown, not the toilet.

TenGPT  13:33

I thought those were the same thing. Initiate trivia.

Sound Bit  13:39

What is going on here?

TenGPT  13:50

Here's a trivia question. Google's inferior AI chatbot called Bard made a foolish mistake that cost Google billions in stock. Bard said that the James Webb Telescope took the first images outside our solar system. But in fact, the first exoplanet was spotted by the very Large Telescope on Earth. Do you know how much money that error cost Google? Is it a) $1 billion, b) $10 billion, or c) $100 billion? Ten'ers, did you guess it? Tessa, what's your answer? 

Tessa Flannery  14:18

C!

TenGPT  14:21

Incorrect. The answer is c) $100 billion.

Tessa Flannery  14:27

Okay, I think we got a little more work to do before we use TenGPT.

TenGPT  14:30

No, thank you. I'm a perfect, glorious, sparkle dragon that farts rainbows.

Ryan Willard  14:31

All right, TenGPT, prove it. Okay, if that was glorious

Tessa Flannery  14:33

Ten'ers, do you want to sit on the trivia throne and share your trivia knowledge? Visit thetennews.com/contact to get in touch and we might have you on the show.

Ryan Willard  14:53

I just overheard the TenGPT doing trivia and I'm telling you right now, it should never replace Tessa or us.

Pamela Kirkland  15:00

Yeah, AI and robots are cool, but there's nothing like actual humans.

Ryan Willard  15:06

Speaking of actual humans, we've got to give special Ten News snaps to one of our listeners.

Pamela Kirkland  15:10

But before we do, here's a quick note for the grown-ups.

Ryan Willard  15:14

Time for Ten News Snaps.

Pamela Kirkland  15:20

Ten’er ‘French Fries, Smiley face, dog, pancake, table tennis, airplane, scales, purple heart’ wrote this review of The Ten News: “I love this show: smiley cat, heart eyes, kissy face, a rainbow of hearts.” 

Ryan Willard  15:35

Thanks, French Fries. And thanks for listening to The Ten News. Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Wednesday. But if you want some bonus content, you can join the Ten'ers Club on our website or on Apple podcasts.

Pamela Kirkland  15:49

The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts.

Ryan Willard  15:54

The Ten News creative team is talking to ChatGPT and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, and Tessa Flannery. Special thanks to Ryan Nerz and Mick Sullivan from The Past and The Curious.

Pamela Kirkland  16:05

Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle. And our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan.

Ryan Willard  16:13

I'm Ryan Willard.

Pamela Kirkland  16:14

And I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. And remember, AI chat bots are here to help unless you ask them to do your homework.