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Is the chatbotpocalypse looming? Some people would like us to think so

AI entrepreneurs like to claim products such as chatbots could become conscious at any minute, causing an 'existential threat'. We need to resist this dystopian marketing hype, says Annalee Newitz

By Annalee Newitz

15 March 2023

White chatbot robot leading robots group on dark bluish reddish background leadership chatbot concept 3D rendering; Shutterstock ID 1707821734; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Shutterstock/sdecoret

I ALWAYS know there is something fishy going on with a new tech product when journalists start desperately reaching out to science fiction authors to explain it for them. Such is the case with ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot from San Francisco company OpenAI, which has become one of the world’s most widely used apps in just a few short months.

So many news outlets were asking science fiction writers to weigh in on AI’s capabilities that the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association had to issue a special media statement on its website, linking to dozens of authors’ …

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