People depend on accurate information and their own reasoning and belief systems to draw conclusions or make decisions. However, when they are inundated with fake news, the reliability of the information they receive is compromised. Consequently, they are left with no choice but to base their decisions on emotions and personal ethics.
This phenomenon is starkly illustrated by the two assassination attempts on a US presidential candidate. The public is overwhelmed with phrases like “public enemy number one”, causing emotions to dominate. Lacking a solid foundation for ethical behaviour, people end up making decisions they would normally never consider. Some may think that AI will be able to replace fake news, but the problem is that even AI programs are programmed and have their programmers’ built-in boundaries.
Here is an example from ChatGPT on the question: “Who is guilty in the war between Russia and Ukraine?” The answer: “The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is complex and has deep historical, political and social roots. It is not straightforward to assign guilt to one party without considering the broader context. The situation escalated significantly in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the subsequent conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which involved pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government. Many international bodies, including the United Nations, have condemned Russia’s actions as violations of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty. However, perspectives on the conflict can vary widely depending on the source of information and the political stance of the observer. It’s important to consider multiple viewpoints and rely on credible sources when forming an opinion on such a complex issue.”
So, the answer from ChatGPT can be summarised as “it all depends”.
Chat GPT and other AI programs are not going to make much of a difference until the rules and laws of the world can be agreed upon and included in the algorithms. In the world we live in today, that is extremely unlikely to happen.
Let us look at another example. Let us ask ChatGPT “Was Palestine given a homeland and by whom?” The answer: “The concept of a Palestinian homeland has been a contentious issue for many years. The region known as Palestine has a long and complex history, with various powers controlling it over the centuries, including the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire. After World War I, the League of Nations granted Britain a mandate over Palestine, which included the responsibility to establish a “national home for the Jewish people” while ensuring that the rights of the existing non-Jewish communities were not prejudiced. This was outlined in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.
In 1947, the United Nations proposed a partition plan to create separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international city. The Jewish community accepted the plan, but the Arab community rejected it. This led to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, after which the State of Israel was established. The West Bank and Gaza Strip, which were intended to be part of the Arab state, came under Jordanian and Egyptian control respectively.
The question of a Palestinian homeland remains unresolved, with ongoing disputes and negotiations over the territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Various peace efforts have been made over the years, but a final agreement has yet to be reached.”
Differences in opinions will always exist because humans do not rely on facts alone, but on their perceptions of the facts. In this case one may ask: “How far should one go back in history to determine who owns what?” People tend to go back in history just to the justify their opinions, and they disregard all other facts. ChatGPT did not even mention the history of that area before the Ottoman empire or how the region consisted of uninhabitable areas that nobody wanted.
AI cannot really be fully AI until it has access to much more information from various sources before it can give a history lesson, let alone come to conclusions as to who owns what part of the globe. Even then, one would have to understand the limitations programmed into the systems before deciding whether the facts presented are real facts or only parts of the facts.
Now on to the UN’s Sustainable Development: The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs published 17 goals under Sustainable Development at https://sdgs.un.org/goals. Among these goals, ‘inclusive and equitable quality education’ are key terms. South Africa faces significant challenges in fully embracing these concepts. In the South African context, ‘inclusive’ and ‘equitable’ often translate to redistributing resources from one racial group to another. There is a lack of understanding that these terms should mean extending the quality education previously reserved for one segment of the population to those who were historically disadvantaged.
One area where South Africa excels in inclusive and equitable quality education is in rugby. Rassie Erasmus has demonstrated the value of integrating skilled individuals from all racial backgrounds into a global competition, resulting in two consecutive World Cup victories. This success story exemplifies the principle of selecting the best talent and allowing educators to train the best from all races, thereby forming a strong, united team. These athletes represent South Africa as a whole, rather than as individuals.
Unfortunately, this unity and excellence are not mirrored in the political leadership of South Africa. When the government announces new initiatives, the public’s immediate reaction is often scepticism, suspecting corruption. While political leaders denounce colonialism, they are swift to adopt colonial titles such as ‘honourable’ in place of ‘comrade’.
When it comes to education, collaboration between education systems and industry is crucial. Within the SAIMC, institutions like Tshwane University of Technology, Nelson Mandela University, Northwest University, and Polytech Africa have joined as Didactic Members. This is not merely a case of lecturers joining an industry body like the SAIMC, but the institutions themselves committing to a partnership.
By joining the SAIMC, these educational institutions have committed to working with the SAIMC User Advisory Council and SAIMC Supplier Advisory Council to investigate jointly actions to be taken to provide industry with graduates who can participate in the industry with very little effort, making them productive sooner.
The issue with current graduates from other educational institutions is that often the curriculums are based on principles like ‘teach them the basics’ and ‘teach them how to learn’, whereas the world has moved on. Industry can no longer afford to have warehouses full of products to satisfy the increasing demands placed on them by their customers, and training centres for newbies to the sophisticated equipment used in these plants.
Yours in automation
Johan Maartens
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about SAIMC |
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version