Musk cautions against ChatGPT-like personal AI

A hacking group has unveiled a “ChatGPT-like” personal Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can be installed and operated on a home computer without an internet connection.

Elon Musk, an early investor in OpenAI, has warned that AI development has brought us closer to a technological dead end.

The creator of the technology blog Multiplex, Brian Roemmele, published a comprehensive installation guide for the personal AI “GPT4All” on April 11, dubbing it the “first PC” moment for personal AI.

GPT4All, which was created by programmers from the AI development company Nomic AI, was reportedly developed in four days for only $1,300 and requires only 4GB of storage space.

Roemmele cautioned that it is not as potent as ChatGPT-4 from AI company OpenAI, which is a significant enhancement over its antecedent ChatGPT-3.5, but that it is still a powerful instrument. Noting:

“Are there limitations? Of course. It is not ChatGPT 4, and it will not handle some things correctly. However, it is one of the most powerful Personal AI systems ever released.”

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and Twitter, has been an outspoken critic of AI development and signed a letter published by the Future of Life Institute on March 22 urging all AI companies to “immediately halt” the training of potent AI systems.

The letter warned that “human-competitive intelligence can pose grave dangers to society and civilization,” a sentiment echoed by Musk in a tweet on April 12, in which he quipped, “The Singularity is nigh.”

The singularity refers to a hypothesized moment in time when technological development becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, potentially with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence that constantly improves itself.

Others believe that a technological singularity could be catastrophic, leading to a dystopian future comparable to that depicted in the popular Terminator science fiction franchise.

Roemmele has a different viewpoint on AI, contending in his guide that it should be referred to as IA, or “Intelligence Amplification.” In response to the demand for a hiatus, he suggested that people “pick a side.”

Roemmele asserted, “AI is rapidly becoming the target of censorship, regulation, and worse,” citing Italy’s March 31 ban on ChatGPT, and added, “This may be your last opportunity to own your AI.”