by Cara Aungst
Opening ChatGPT for the first time reminded me of my first memory of the world wide web (yes, I’m that old). I was in the Audio-Visual department at my small liberal arts college, and the AV director showed me how to find, and buy, a font to use in the yearbook design. I distinctly remember thinking, This is going to change everything.
As ChatGPT unironically asked me to check a box to confirm that I was human, and then started collecting thoughts in a thoroughly superhuman way, I remembered hearing the sound of dial-up for the first time.
Using the most popular AI photo, graphic and writing tools available, we pulled this issue together. You can find the list at the bottom of this article.
Was the process fast? Incredibly so. Even for a newbie like myself, registering, learning and producing content took minutes. One article took 20 seconds. Was it good? It depends. We’ve all seen some great examples of AI, but it was clear that it takes very cleverly crafted queries and rework to get there.
The biggest thing that was missing was the most obvious. Humans. The researchers who call to do interviews over their lunch break, the professors who moved states and even continents to innovate and collaborate HERE. The voices of those incredible humans were noticeably absent. And those are the stories that we live to tell.
Whether you are curious, terrified, or excited about AI, it’s here. And Penn State — and Happy Valley — is here for it with its unique mix of research and collaboration to push boundaries of possibilities and wrestle with issues in a thoroughly human way.
One final thought on whether AI will replace all of us — the short answer is not quite yet. Here’s my creepy headshot from AISuitUp that won’t be replacing my outdated LinkedIn profile photo any time soon.
In this week’s issue:
Text: ChatGPT
Logo: LogoAI
Illustrations: CanvaAI text to image
Images: Midjourney
Headshot: AISuitUp
