segunda-feira, 29 de maio de 2023

Yuval Noah Harari answers the question: "Not knowing what professions will exist (in the future), what should schools teach in the present?"



In a previous post (link above) I listed 19 questions, which ChatGPT considered to be the most relevant for the human species. The one that appears in the ninth position with the wording "Can we create an artificial intelligence that is comparable to human intelligence?" is now much closer to having a positive response, given the content of the 155-page article, which was recently released, https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12712

In the controversial article, its authors affirm that the GPT-4 model, presents an almost human performance, being able to solve new challenges of high complexity and without the need of any special guidance, including in the areas of mathematics, coding, medicine , law, psychology and others: "We demonstrate that, beyond its mastery of language, GPT-4 can solve novel and difficult tasks that span mathematics, coding, vision, medicine, law, psychology and more, without needing any special prompting. Moreover, in all of these tasks, GPT-4's performance is strikingly close to human-level performance"

On the above topic, I remember that last month, in a post published on the 25th of April, I had already mentioned another article, on the high capabilities of GPT-4 in solving important medical challenges.

Still on the future impacts of Artificial Intelligence, the main section of the last edition of the Portuguese newsweek Expresso, published an extensive interview with the well-known thinker Yuval Noah Harari, from which I intend to highlight the answer to the question:
"Not knowing what professions will exist (in the future), what should the school teach in the present?"

Yuval Noah Harari's response: "…Schools don't have to give information to children because they are flooded with information. But they have to teach them to distinguish between credible and non-credible sources of information."

Of course, this answer raises another question (which the journalists did not ask), which is how can you teach a child to distinguish between a credible and an unreliable source of information? Fortunately, though, ChatGPT can help answer that question:

ChatGPT Answer: "Teaching a child to distinguish between a credible and an unreliable source of information is an important skill in today's times when the amount of information available is vast and not all of it is reliable. Here are some guidelines on how to approach this matter:

  1. Start with basic concepts: Explain to the child what a source of information is, such as books, websites, newspapers, magazines and videos. Help her understand that not all sources are reliable and that some may contain incorrect or misleading information.
  2. Teach to evaluate the source: Show the child how to examine the source of information. Explain that it is important to consider who wrote the information, what their expertise is and whether they have a credible reputation. Make sure the source is recognized and respected in the area where you are providing information.
  3. Check facts: Encourage the child to check whether the information presented is supported by evidence, research or additional sources. Explain that reliable information is based on verifiable facts and can be corroborated by multiple independent sources.
  4. Review impartiality: Help the child understand that some sources of information may have bias or a specific agenda. Teach her to consider whether information is presented impartially or whether there is hidden intent behind it.
  5. Promote critical thinking: Encourage the child to ask questions about the information being presented. Encourage her to think critically, analyze different perspectives and look for evidence before accepting information as true.
  6. Teach About Reliable Sources: Identify and present the child with examples of reputable sources of information such as encyclopedias, websites of educational institutions, libraries, reputable newspapers and educational TV programs. Explain why these sources are considered reliable and how to use them.
  7. Monitoring and Supervision: Be there to guide the child through their research and offer support when they encounter questionable information. Encourage her to seek the opinion of trusted adults, such as parents, teachers, or librarians, when in doubt about the credibility of a source.
  8. Set an example: As an adult, you can influence your child by modeling reliable information-seeking behavior and by sharing your own source evaluation process. Demonstrate how you verify the accuracy of information before accepting it"