The NLP tipping point - it's time to relearn!

 “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ”

― Alvin Toffler

With the advent of the latest AI tools, such as ChatGPT, there is much hype around what and what not AI can do and what these AI systems would become. 

I also see many "Pandits" pointing to some potential weak points in these systems and trying to console themselves on how good still human intelligence is. I think one needs to think of the Pareto Principle, the 80-20 rule. If these tools are 80% good enough, and we can make use of them at least 20% of the time to get 80% productivity gain we need, that is it. 

When you look into the novel possibilities emerging alongside the capabilities of these tools, I think we mustn't just try to find ways to the frame of learning and worldviews we have as of now. One could call it thinking outside the box. But I would like to call it unlearning and relearning some of the stuff you already know. 

For example, there is material on the Internet siting Googling as a skill. People who know how to Google better have an edge, both in their work and life in general. Sometimes, when people brought problems to me, I used to ask, did you Google it? Now that we are so used to search engines, we also know that they are not good enough all the time. With that, the interface and experience that I get with CahtGPT for asking what I need and providing me one simple answer than having to pick one from millions of results is a great relief. Of course, this does not take away the need to search. Yet, at the same time, you cannot use the semantics used for searching when it comes to prompt or questioning. 

While the search model can be used for learning, the chat model is far more effective. In fact, you can build your own tutor based on the phase and style of your learning. 

Worldview

We all have a worldview. That is our own mental model of reality. When we look at the world, history, developments, and trends, our worldview comes into play. 

Tools such as ChatGPT could seriously challenge our worldview. This is because the sum total of our beliefs about the world would be seriously challenged. 

However, we also need to understand that our growth and development in life depend on the evolution of our one worldview. When the status quo is seriously challenged, the best is to focus on unlearning and then releasing or learning. Sometimes, learning could be better than relearning, meaning, just think of it as something new and not something you used to know and learn again. That way, it could lead to better learning. 

Ethics and Meaning

The super tools adoption is sometimes discouraged due to our ethics and meaning worldviews. However, the reality is that the tools are already there in the market, and whether you like it or not, a good percentage of people will adopt and use these tools. 

The reality is the phase of change and progression has picked up as never before. So, if you want to consider topics such as ethics and meaning, you need to act fast and not lay back on them for too long. 

Not many, not even the creators of these tools, know what we will end up with. It is another step in our whole evolution. 

The general belief is AI could be bad if it gets too smart. However, I would like to imagine that AI would lead us to better education and better answers to some long-lasting problems that we have.