I don't think we pause enough to marvel at how freakin' weird AI is. Here's an actual instruction from OpenAI to its latest model: "Never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant."

Apparently goblins and mythical creatures crept in when OpenAI released its "nerdy" personality a few models back and the mythical creatures have just proliferated ever since. It's a bizarre example AI bias and, as it's relatively adorable, one that OpenAI was happy to write about. But what else is lurking?

That's the jumping off point for Kwaku Aning and me (Dan Blumberg) on this latest FAFO Friday edition, which plays off of Tuesday's interview with responsible AI expert Rumman Chowdhury. Along the way, we discuss AI personalities, TV commercials, and brand strategies, how AI thinks you should shoot a three-pointer, what gets lost when humans no longer write the code, and why we need (?) whimsical garbage cans.

Plus, we tie a few stories together: why a reckoning is coming for the all-you-can-eat-AI-token-buffet, as the "millennial lifestyle subsidy" for AI is ending, tokenmaxxing, the growing (and bipartisan!) data center backlash, and why Earth's (AI-powering) solar panels may soon run 24/7 thanks to light redirected from outer space.

Links:

Where the goblins came from (OpenAI blog post)
My interview with responsible AI expert Dr. Rumman Chowdhury (Future Around & Find Out)
GitHub Copilot is moving to usage-based billing (GitHub announcement)
‘The Most Bipartisan Issue Since Beer’: Opposition to Data Centers (NYTimes, gift link)
Meta inks deal for solar power at night, beamed from space (TechCrunch)

Support Future Around & Find Out

Follow Dan on LinkedIn
Get the free newsletter
Become a paid subscriber and help future proof FAFO!

The Goblin in the Machine | FAFO Friday