“Based” AI Wins Elon Musk’s Approval

The world’s favorite tech billionaire recently made a glowing endorsement of AI in a way that only he can. 

After Bing’s new AI-powered chatbot compared an AP reporter with Hitler (among other amusing conversations), Elon Musk finally broke his silence on the matter. 

His eloquent commentary was simple but powerful: 

For those without a Ph.D. in internet lingo, “based” is high praise often awarded to someone who makes a logical argument in the face of illogical norms. 

In most cases, it’s used to compliment a statement that dares to disagree with current liberal pop culture. 

Bing is clearly broaching territory that the “sanctimonious, hectoring liberal scold” known as ChatGPT would never dare touch. Glenn Greenwald certainly has a knack for vivid imagery, but there are a few important points to note here. 

For one, both AI programs are lucky these responses have been this tame. This is a completely new frontier in terms of information processing.

I’m frankly surprised the AI feedback wasn't much more raunchy — especially considering it was trained with millions of gigabytes of random internet data.

Imagine giving a super-smart 12-year-old unlimited access to the internet and then asking it questions that intentionally provoke the worst responses. That’s close to what we’re dealing with here.

ChatGPT is getting raked over the coals for its supposed liberal bias, but its “guardrails” have been the main reason it hasn't tried to either flirt with users or build a dirty bomb. 

Though it seems more willing to delve into darker subjects, Bing’s chatbot definitely has guardrails too. If it didn’t, the responses would be far more insane than your run-of-the-mill Hitler comparison. 

The real problem is where to draw the line. Depending on your sensibilities, this “based” version of AI might be fine with you. But at the end of the day, your definition of “based” might not be appealing to your neighbor. 

And unfortunately, if it doesn't work for everyone’s needs, AI won’t be the perfect assistant the world needs it to be. 

Is AI Too Based or Not Based Enough?

With every new question and response, AI programs get smarter. They learn what answers yield the best results, what people want to hear, and which data is the most important. 

Since everyone on the planet agrees with each other all the time, that should be no problem, right? 

Nope. If everyone had the same opinions and desires, one could argue we wouldn't even need AI in the first place. Everyone could just zone out in front of Tucker Carlson and be happy with their lives. 

But in the real world, everyone is going to want their fancy AI assistant to agree with and respect them. It’s yet another reason why these programs have a long, long way to go. 

Though big companies like OpenAI might want to convince you that they've solved the problem once and for all, I think there are more than enough examples to prove them wrong. 

The AI industry has years' if not decades' worth of development ahead of it before it completely reinvents human life as we know it. 

But that’s not to say we aren't seeing major paradigm shifts happening already. 

Bing AI is still in its early testing stages, but the chatbot is still remarkably effective — when it isn't trying to win your love or insult your teeth, that is. 

While AI hits the books and expands its knowledge, we’ve found another field of science that is currently breaking out of the lab and into the mainstream. 

If you're a frequent reader of our reporting here at Energy and Capital, you've probably heard of it before.

It’s a hardware breakthrough that can match the potential of new AI software. It’s been in development for a long time but only recently started entering mainstream commercialization. 

Can you guess what it is?

To your wealth,

Luke Sweeney
Contributor, Energy and Capital

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Luke’s technical know-how combined with an insatiable scientific curiosity has helped uncover some of our most promising leads in the tech sector. He has a knack for breaking down complicated scientific concepts into an easy-to-digest format, while still keeping a sharp focus on the core information. His role at Angel is simple: transform piles of obscure data into profitable investment leads. When following our recommendations, rest assured that a truly exhaustive amount of research goes on behind the scenes..