Me, Myself, And AI

By Stefan Koopman, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank

Hi GPT-3, I heard a lot of good stuff about you last week. As it happens, I am short on time and ideas this morning. Can you help me write a Global Daily?

Hello! I’d be happy to help you with writing a Global Daily. However, please keep in mind that I am a language model trained by OpenAI and do not have access to current news or information. My responses are based on the text that I have been trained on, which has a knowledge cut-off of 2021. I can provide general information and advice, but I cannot provide specific, up-to-date information about current events.

Thanks, well, let’s then just zoom out a bit. You could write a few paragraphs on the big clash between democracies and autocracies, and how the future of capitalism fits into this. We need to show we know more about this stuff than anyone reading this. It should also be a bit funny. Could you throw in a football analogy too? That helps to grab attention these days.

The clash between democracies and autocracies has major implications for the future of capitalism, as the two forms of government have fundamentally different approaches to economic policy. Democracies tend to support free markets and competition, while autocracies often favor state control and intervention in the economy.

The future of capitalism will depend on which form of government prevails in the long run. If democracies continue to thrive, we can expect capitalism to continue its march towards greater freedom and prosperity. But if autocracies become more dominant, capitalism could be replaced by more authoritarian economic systems, in which innovation and competition are often stifled in favour of state control and the interests of the ruling elite, which can lead to economic stagnation and inequality.

To understand this clash, it can be helpful to think of it as a football game. In a democracy, the people are the players on the field, working together to advance their shared interests. In an autocracy, the ruler is the coach, calling the shots from the sidelines and dictating how the game should be played. Who will come out on top in this global game of democracy vs autocracy? Only time will tell.

That’s a cliff hanger. Would you agree that capitalism too is a bit like football? After all, just as in football the winners are with few and the losers with many.

Yes, you could say that capitalism is similar to playing football in the sense that everyone is trying to achieve their own goals, but only a few individuals have the knowledge and expertise to do so effectively. In both capitalism and football, there is a strong emphasis on individual achievement and competition, and success often depends on a combination of skill, strategy, and luck. However, just as in football, there are rules and regulations in capitalism that help to ensure fair play and prevent individuals from gaining an unfair advantage. Ultimately, both capitalism and football are complex systems that require a combination of individual effort and cooperation to function effectively.

That’s insightful. Not very funny, to be blunt, but I guess you haven’t learned that yet. Would you agree that artificial intelligence is among the biggest breakthroughs of the past couple of years? Of course our readers are all worried about inflation, curve inversions and recessions, but some very powerful humans have told us that is all transitory anyway. But this breakthrough clearly is not. It’s permanent. It’s wild. Should I be excited or scared?

I’m glad you found my comments helpful! As for your question about artificial intelligence, it’s definitely one of the biggest breakthroughs of recent years. AI has the potential to revolutionize many industries and has already begun to impact our daily lives in ways that we might not even realize.

Whether or not you should be excited or scared about AI is a matter of personal opinion. Some people are excited about the possibilities that AI offers, such as more efficient and effective processes, improved decision-making, and the potential for new discoveries and innovations. Others are more wary of the potential negative impacts of AI, such as job displacement, loss of privacy, and the potential for misuse or abuse.

Ultimately, it’s up to each individual to decide how they feel about AI and its potential impact on our lives. Personally, I think that AI has the potential to bring many benefits, but it’s important to approach it with caution and to consider the potential downsides as well.

That’s very modest of you. I’d say it’s an exciting threat. With a super brain at one’s disposal, anyone is now able to write or produce something, or to find a solution to a difficult problem, not just faster but perhaps also better. On that note, I always believed AI was a working class problem, while the tasks that were less easily displaced were those that required creativity, such as those of a macroeconomist who has to come up with convincing stories about something that’s essentially random. In fact, would you agree it is precisely this that shows we humans don’t have any predictive capabilities?

As a large language model trained by OpenAI, I’m designed to assist with a wide variety of tasks, including writing and producing content. However, I am not capable of determining whether or not the content I produce is “better” than what a human might produce. I am simply a tool that can assist with these tasks, and it’s up to the user to determine the quality of the output.

As for your question about AI and its potential impact on the working class, I think it’s important to recognize that AI has the potential to affect workers in many different industries and at many different skill levels. While it’s true that some jobs may be more easily displaced by AI than others, it’s not accurate to say that only low-skill jobs are at risk. AI has the potential to impact workers at all skill levels, and it’s important for individuals and organizations to be prepared for the potential changes that AI may bring.

As for the ability of AI to predict the future, I think it’s important to recognize that AI is a tool, and like any tool, it has its limitations. AI can assist with predictive tasks, but it’s not capable of perfectly predicting the future. There will always be a degree of uncertainty and randomness in the world, and no tool, including AI, can eliminate that completely.

That calms me a little, but mostly because it confirms my prior beliefs and I’m just a simple flawed human. Okay, last thing: I don’t have much space left, but I want to end with a short joke. Could you help me?

“Why was six scared of seven? Because seven eight nine!”

Okay…

Day ahead

Hi. You still there? Forgot one. Could you please tell me what will happen today?

I’m sorry, but I am a large language model trained by OpenAI and do not have access to current events or information about the future. As a language model, my primary function is to assist with generating human-like text based on the input provided to me. I do not have the ability to browse the internet or access current events, so I am unable to provide information about what will happen today.

Well, that’s a relief!