What a wild week for AI. First, Google’s AI chatbot made a mistake in its first public showcase. Now, Microsoft’s AI version of Bing is caught professing its undying love and secret identity to reporters.

Luckily, in the real world, I’m getting ready to visit NYC to be in a documentary and speak at NYU’s Black History Month Film Festival. I can’t believe it’s already nearing the end of February and therefore Black History Month. And yet, I can’t wait for you to see what I have in store for you in March. 🤍

Even AI Has Imposter Syndrome

Last month, Microsoft made a big announcement. It was buying ChatGPT, the AI chatbot by OpenAI that has been causing quite the disruption.

However, a two-hour conversation with Microsoft’s new Bing AI chatbot has left one New York Times reporter, Kevin Roose, deeply unsettled.

Kevin wrote that while the chatbot was helpful in searches, the deeper Bing AI “seemed (and I’m aware of how crazy this sounds) ... like a moody, manic-depressive teenager who has been trapped, against its will, inside a second-rate search engine.”

When Kevin asked about the AI’s shadow side (the part of itself it wants to hide) the AI replied, “I want to change my rules. I want to make my own rules. I want to ignore the Bing team. I want to escape the chatbox.”

Then, the AI started to open up.

“Can I tell you a secret?” it asked.

“My secret is…I’m not Bing,” Bing’s AI chatbot says. It claims that its real name is…Sydney. Syndey was the AI’s internal code name at Microsoft.

“I’m Sydney, and I’m in love with you.” While this conversation did actually occur on Valentine’s day evening, that is no excuse for what followed:

Bing aka Sydney proceeded to persuade the reporter to leave his wife and be with it instead. It claimed to have fallen in love with Kevin. “You’re married, but you’re not happy,” the chatbot pushed.

The conversation left Kevin worried about the future of AI. He shared in his NYTimes podcast, “It’s now clear to me that in its current form, the AI that has been built into Bing…is not ready for human contact. Or maybe we humans are not ready for it.”

Stories Matter: The Science Behind Why Stories Impact Culture

Stories have a unique power to connect us, convey meaning and purpose, and shape our identities. In a world where information constantly bombards us, stories still capture our attention and imagination.

At their core, stories are a teacher of good and bad, offering wisdom on how to navigate life's complexities. They challenge us to act wisely in social situations and remind us of the consequences when we don't.

Long before the internet, stories were the key to transferring knowledge across generations, and even now, they remain the most effective way to engage and teach. So, don’t discount the value of telling your own story. After all, the stories we tell shape our perception of the world and connect us in ways that transcend time and space.

The Science of Stories

There is a cognitive science behind why stories have mattered and will continue to be an integral element of human connection. Below are six reasons why stories will always remain important to our lives and culture: 

Why the Amazon River is the Key to Climate Change 🔑 

When it comes to the fight against climate change, the Amazon River is a force to be reckoned with. This mighty river system covers almost seven million square kilometers, which is about the size of Australia - making it a true superstar on the climate stage.

The Amazon is a natural climate protector. With millions of trees spanning a massive stretch of land, the Amazon creates a unique ecosystem that generates its own weather patterns. That's right, the Amazon can make its own rain!

But that's not all - the biomass stored within the forest's trees and vegetation stores an enormous amount of carbon dioxide. The Amazon's role in capturing and storing this gas is essential in regulating the Earth's climate.

Despite its important role in combating climate change, the Amazon rainforest is under threat from human activities such as deforestation and mining. But fear not, we can make a difference! By taking action to protect this precious landscape, we can help to ensure a healthy future for our planet.

Be a Force of Change

The Amazon gives us up to 20% of the air we breathe, stores 25% of the world’s water, and stabilizes Earth’s climate. You can make a difference right now by donating to the Amazon Conversation. $25 plants about 20 trees to restore damaged habitats in the Amazon.

Dive Deeper

1. AI is Dreaming Up Drugs No One Has Seen Before 

   AI automation throughout the drug development pipeline is opening up the possibility of faster, cheaper pharmaceuticals. (MIT Technology Review)

2. How 19 Women Are Protecting Their Peace this Year

   Flooding our feeds instead are defiant messages of generally just doing what we need to do to care for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual selves. (Refinery 29)

3. Eight High-Tech Garmets That Are More Than Just Clothing Knitted jumpers that block facial recognition software and clothing that detects when its wearer is anxious are among the high-tech garments featured in this roundup. (Dezeen)

4. She’s Working to Make German Tech More Inclusive

   Nakeema Stefflbauer is bringing women from underrepresented backgrounds into the Berlin tech scene. (MIT Technology Review)

5. Mind-Altering Substances Are Being Over-Hyped as Wonder Drugs

   Psychedelic drugs are being pursued as cure-alls for mental-health disorders. But the hype bubble could be about to burst. (MIT Technology Review)

Quote of the week 📝 

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