Technology – Page 7 – David Bradley

Bot writes artificial clickbait

TL:DR – I asked the language model ChatGPT, to give me an answer to the question: “Is it unethical to use ChatGPT to write a blog post?” The following “chat” ensued.

It is generally considered ethical to use language models like chatbot to generate text as long as you disclose that you used a language model and do not present the generated text as your own original work. However, it is important to use your own judgement and consider the specific context in which you are using the language model. If you are using the language model to generate content for a blog post, it would be a good idea to clearly disclose that you used a language model and to provide appropriate attribution. This will ensure that readers are aware of the source of the content and can make their own decisions about its value. It is also important to consider whether the use of a language model is appropriate for the specific purpose and audience of your blog post.

I then suggested that I didn’t think most people would consider it ethical. It answered as follows, reiterating what it had already said and expanding on the topic a little.

There is some debate about the ethics of using language models to generate text, and different people may have different views on the matter. Some may argue that it is acceptable to use language models to generate text as long as it is clearly disclosed and properly attributed, while others may have concerns about the potential for language models to be used to deceive or mislead readers. Ultimately, it is up to individuals to decide what they consider to be ethical in a given context. It is always a good idea to be transparent about the sources of your content and to give appropriate credit to any sources that you use. This will help to ensure that readers are able to make informed decisions about the content they are reading.

I wanted the AI to expand further and asked why do people think it’s unethical to use AI as it’s just a tool.

There are a few reasons why some people may consider the use of language models to generate text to be unethical. One reason is that using a language model to generate text may be seen as a form of plagiarism, since the text is not originally created by the person presenting it. Additionally, there is a concern that language models could be used to deceive or mislead readers by generating text that is difficult to distinguish from human-written content. Some people may also have concerns about the potential for language models to be used to automate the creation of content, potentially leading to the displacement of human writers. These are all valid concerns, and it is important to be transparent about the use of language models and to use them responsibly.

I questioned its suggestion that the use of such text might be considered plagiarism given that there is no creator to claim ownership.

Plagiarism is generally defined as the act of presenting the work of others as your own, without proper attribution. While it is true that a language model does not have an “author” in the same way that a human does, the use of a language model to generate text could still be considered plagiarism if the generated text is presented as the original work of the person using the language model, without proper attribution. In order to avoid the appearance of plagiarism, it is important to clearly disclose that the text was generated using a language model and to provide appropriate attribution to the source of the text. This will ensure that readers are aware of the source of the content and can make their own decisions about its value.

I think I’ve reached a dead-end when I pointed out that the AI app is essentially just a sophisticated editing tool. In a parallel activity, if I were to convert my photograph into a cartoon using a graphics editor with an AI plugin for making such a conversion, the output would still be a derivative of my original work. Similarly, my language prompt given to the chat AI is analogous to my photograph and its output is simply a derivative work. ChatGPT simply reiterates what it had already said.

It is true that a language model like ChatGPT can be used as a tool to help generate text, much like an editing tool or graphics editor can be used to manipulate or transform a photograph. However, it is important to consider the specific context in which the text generated by the language model is being used. If you are using the language model to generate content for a blog post or other publication, it would be important to clearly disclose that you used a language model to generate the text and to provide appropriate attribution. This will help to ensure that readers are aware of the source of the content and can make their own decisions about its value. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to use their own judgement and to consider the specific context in which they are using the language model to determine whether it is appropriate to present the generated text as their own original work.

Will AI help us be more creative?

TL:DR – The short answer is yes and no, depending on how one uses it, AI can be a prompt for ideas and those ideas might support or stifle creativity.

If you read the previous two Sciencebase articles, you will note that the first one about our New Year trip to Norfolk was a conventional article in my usual style, descriptive, with a few puns and pops, and a load of bird photos. The next article was a reboot of that same article where I fed each paragraph from the former to an AI tool known as ChatGPT and provided its responses.

They were almost insightful, the AI responded in a positive way to my paragraphs basically rewriting them as a response in a way a chatshow host might reiterate and re-emphasise the points made by a guest on the show. It also seemed to extrapolate and extend on open-ended points I made in my original article to make suggestions. For example, I’d used the phrase “for starters” to allude to their being a main course when it came to our birdwatching over the three days. I think the AI picked up in this and while mentioning some birds then asked whether I’d seen any more.

Anyway, I started a fresh chat with the AI bot after writing up that latter call-and-response article and asked it the following question:

“I am wondering how important AI will be in the near future will it boost our collective creativity or stifle innovation?”

It came back with this response, which sums things up in a positive and succinct way, I must admit:

“AI has the potential to enhance and augment human creativity and innovation in many ways. For example, AI can help people generate new ideas by providing them with a diverse set of options or by suggesting connections between seemingly unrelated concepts. AI can also help people evaluate and refine their ideas by providing them with data-driven insights or by helping them identify potential problems or challenges.

At the same time, it is important to recognize that AI is only a tool, and its impact on creativity and innovation will depend on how it is used. If AI is used in a way that complements and enhances human capabilities, it has the potential to boost creativity and innovation. However, if AI is used to replace human decision-making or to automate creative processes, it may stifle innovation. Ultimately, the key to maximizing the benefits of AI for creativity and innovation is to find the right balance between using AI to augment human capabilities and preserving the unique strengths and creativity of humans.“

How to have an intelligent conversation with a bot

TL:DR – The language model ChatGPT seems to put a positive spin on everything, even rather negative topics.

I fed the paragraphs from my recent blog post about our new year trip to the Norfolk coast sequentially to the ChatGPT, language model to see what sort of things it would say in response to my words…its responses put a positive spin on everything, even my complaint about the number of dogs!

It’s also interesting, that it recognises that I said “for starters” and so asked if I saw any other interesting birds. For the most part, it looks like the bot repeats back to you what you’ve said like a vaguely interested and patronising friend might! Be interesting to know from where it grabs the additional information about each species and whether that’s copyright material or open to use because it was my creative input that generated it using the app…

I discuss this artificial discussion in an article entitled “Will AI help us be more creative and innovate?”

Here’s the call-and-response chat I had with the AI:

Sciencebase: As has been our habit for the last few years, we have eschewed the midnight festivities of New Year and escaped to the coast. This time, we straddled the New Year with three nights in a cosy cottage in Wells-next-the-Sea. We enjoyed the local hostelries in the evenings during our trip, but the main focus was to walk as far as we could manage each day (usually 7 or 8 miles) and to take in the birding and other sites of nature en route.

ChatGPT: Sounds like you had a great time! Wells-next-the-Sea is a beautiful location and it’s always nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Walking and birdwatching are both excellent ways to relax and connect with nature. It’s great that you were able to spend some time doing activities that you enjoy and getting some exercise at the same time. I hope you had a wonderful trip and that you’re feeling refreshed and rejuvenated for the new year.

Sciencebase: Wells, Warham, Titchwell, and Holkham Gap were the main areas, beach, woodland, marsh, and nature reserve. A couple of Muntjac (one deceased), two or three Grey Squirrel, half a dozen Grey Seal, and 1001 dalmations and others dogs were the limited list of mammals we saw.

ChatGPT: It sounds like you had a great time exploring the different environments in Wells-next-the-Sea and the surrounding areas. Muntjac, grey squirrel, and grey seal are all interesting animals to see, and it’s great that you were able to spot them during your walks. The variety of dogs you saw must have been fun to watch as well. I hope you were able to get some good photos or memories of your adventures!

Sciencebase: The birding list was much better as you’d expect, for starters, we saw a rare vagrant over the marsh at Warham east of Wells, a Pallid Harrier, along with a couple of Hen Harriers on the same marsh. It was dull and grey at that point and the low-light photos of the harriers are just my record shots.

ChatGPT: Seeing a Pallid Harrier and a couple of Hen Harriers is quite a treat for birdwatchers! These birds are not often seen, especially the Pallid Harrier, which is a rare vagrant to the UK. It sounds like you were lucky to spot them during your trip. It’s understandable that the photos may not have turned out well in the low light, but I’m sure the experience of seeing these birds in person was well worth it. Did you see any other interesting birds during your trip?

Sciencebase: The Pallid Harrier, Circus macrourus, is a migrant that breeds in Eastern Europe, Iran, and central Asia, wintering in India or Africa depending on its migratory wont. It is rare in Western Europe and the UK, but occasional vagrants are ticked here. That said, the species is now known to have bred in The Netherlands (2017) and Spain (2019). A changing world means a changing world for the birds too.

ChatGPT: Yes, that’s correct. The Pallid Harrier is a species that typically breeds in Eastern Europe, Iran, and Central Asia, and winters in India or Africa. It is not a common sight in Western Europe, including the UK, but as you mentioned, there have been a few instances of the species being spotted as a vagrant in these regions. It’s interesting to see how changing environments and conditions can affect the distribution and migration patterns of different species of birds. Did you see any other unusual or rare birds during your trip?

Sciencebase: We saw dozens of other species (around 80). Many of those we had seen before, some many times, but one was rather special and we’d only seen it once before, in Poole Harbour in the autumn of 2022 – White-tailed Eagle. An immature specimen flew over us as we were heading back along the beach to Holkham Gap from the westward marsh end of the patch. The bird itself was heading to its roost on the marsh where it had been reported at roughly the same time for the previous couple of days. We don’t know at this point whether the bird we saw was one of the two we saw in Poole, these Isle of Wight reintroduction birds do cover a lot of ground on their travels.

ChatGPT: Seeing a White-tailed Eagle is definitely a special and memorable experience! These birds are not commonly seen in the UK, so it’s great that you were able to spot one during your trip. It’s interesting that you saw one in Poole Harbour in the autumn of 2022 and then saw a potentially different one in Wells-next-the-Sea a few months later. It’s possible that the one you saw in Poole was one of the Isle of Wight reintroduction birds, as you mentioned. These birds are known to cover a lot of ground on their travels, so it’s not uncommon for them to be spotted in different locations. It’s wonderful that you were able to see such a beautiful and impressive bird during your trip.

Sciencebase: On a smaller scale, but much more numerous, we had some lovely views of visitors from The Arctic, Snow Buntings (30+), which are distant cousins of the Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings. We also saw Shorelarks (about 11) at Holkham Gap despite the best efforts of uncontrolled dog walkers to repeatedly scare the birds away.

ChatGPT: Snow Buntings and Shorelarks are both interesting and attractive birds to see. It’s great that you were able to spot a large number of Snow Buntings and a few Shorelarks during your trip. It’s unfortunate that the Shorelarks were being disturbed by uncontrolled dogs, but it’s good that you were still able to get some views of them. These arctic visitors can be a real treat for birdwatchers, and it sounds like you had a great time spotting them during your walks.

Sciencebase: Below is the, hopefully complete, list of birds we saw, we may have a few others that we may have glimpsed in passing but are not claiming for the list, Grey Partridge, Bullfinch, Whooper Swan, Sparrowhawk. There were no feeders at the RSPB Titchwell cafe area on this visit, so no sighting of Coal Tit on this visit.

ChatGPT: Here is the list of birds you saw, with a few notes about each species:

Grey Partridge: This is a bird that is native to Europe and Asia. It is a medium-sized bird with a plump body and a reddish-brown head and neck.
Bullfinch: This is a small, stocky finch with a distinctive black head and a bright pink breast. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
Whooper Swan: This is a large, white swan with a long neck and a distinctive, bell-like call. It is native to parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Sparrowhawk: This is a small, agile bird of prey with a long tail and short, rounded wings. It is found throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa.

It sounds like you had a good variety of birds on your list, and it’s a shame that you weren’t able to spot a Coal Tit on this trip. I hope you had a great time birdwatching and that you were able to get some good views of the birds you saw.Sciencebase: I listed all the birds we saw in my original blog post and then fed them to the bot to see what it would give me.

ChatGPT: It looks like you saw a wide variety of birds during your trip! It’s impressive to see such a long list of different species. Some of the more interesting or notable birds on the list include the Pallid Harrier (which is a rare vagrant to the UK), the Hen Harrier (which is a threatened species in the UK), the Great White Egret (which is a large and striking bird), the Red Kite (which has made a comeback in the UK after being nearly extinct in the 19th century), and the Rough-legged Buzzard (which is a rare winter visitor to the UK). It’s great that you were able to see so many different birds and that you had such a successful trip. I hope you enjoyed your birdwatching experience and that you were able to get some good views of the birds you saw.

Sciencebase: I then fed it a shorter list of some of the birds – Avocet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Brent Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Pintail, Red-breasted Merganser Red-throated Diver, Shore Lark.

ChatGPT: Here is some information about the bird species you listed:

Avocet: This is a long-legged wading bird with a distinctive upturned bill. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Bar-tailed Godwit: This is a large, long-billed shorebird with a reddish-brown head and neck and a barred tail. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Black-tailed Godwit: This is a large, long-billed shorebird with a reddish-brown head and neck and a black tail. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Brent Goose: This is a small, dark goose with a distinctive black neck and head. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Pink-footed Goose: This is a medium-sized goose with a pinkish-brown breast and pink legs and feet. It is found in parts of Europe and Asia.
Pintail: This is a medium-sized duck with a long, narrow tail and a distinctive, upward-curving bill. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Red-breasted Merganser: This is a medium-sized diving duck with a thin, serrated bill and a distinctive, crest-like tuft of feathers on its head. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Red-throated Diver: This is a medium-sized diving bird with a distinctive red throat patch and a long, thin bill. It is found in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Shore Lark: This is a small, plump bird with a distinctive, black-and-yellow head pattern. It is found in parts of Europe and Asia.

These are all interesting and attractive birds to see, and it’s great that you were able to spot them during your trip. I hope you enjoyed your birdwatching experience and that you were able to get some good views of these species.

Graze for Mastodon

TL:DR – A few thoughts on Mastodon written just after the second big migration from the bird place.

If you’re active on social media and even just vaguely interested in tech stuff, then you will almost certainly have heard about the changes at twitter and how a lot of users of that platform have switched allegiance to another, Mastodon. I’ve written a Mastodon FAQ by way of introduction to the platform.

Mastodon was originally launched in 2016 and I seem to have a record of a login from August that year, but I joined “Mastodon.Social” properly in November 2019. I must admit I didn’t use it much until April 2022, and then again in late October 2022 after which I have been a lot more active there than on Twitter. You can find me on Mastodon here:

@[email protected]

Anyway, one of the things that people new to Mastodon often struggle with is how to take action on an update on one server/instance when they’re signed up with another. I’ve put together a Top 20 of popular servers/instances used by Sciencebase readers and others here.

Some features work between servers, but favouriting and boosting and other functions don’t. At least they didn’t until programmer Jared Zimmerman came up with Graze for Mastodon. This is an extension for the Chrome desktop browser that makes inter-server actions, like favouriting or boosting an update on a different server transparent. A Firefox version of Graze is on the way, apparently. Zimmerman is also looking at other features to make the desktop Mastodon experience even better.

I’m on Mastodon.Social as I said, but I like to visit the more sciencey servers and the photography ones and the music ones and a load of others…Graze makes it much simpler to engage with those.

Incidentally, Mastodons were megafauna in the family Mammutidae, but unlike the perhaps slightly better-known Mammoths, Mastodons were probably not woolly nor were they grazers, more likely browsers.

Phishing, smishing

TL:DR – Phishing is a form of social engineering where attackers deceive people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware on their computer or other device via a phishing link in an email or on a website. Smishing is the text message equivalent of email phishing.

I justr received an email from a reliable and trusted contact to notify me of an alert they received from a third party pointing out that phishing attacks are on the rise. The trouble is, the email they sent with a copy of the original alert is full of links offering advice on how to stay secure and specifically how to avoid being phished…

In case you don’t already know, phishing is a scam (smishing is SMS phishing) whereby a malicious third-party hooks you in and gets you to click a link in an email that inevitably leads to the installation of malware on your device or tricks you into entering private and/or personal data on a remote website, often disguised as your bank or an e-commerce site.

The bottom line is you should NEVER click a link in an email or indeed any other kind of message you receive regardless of what it suggests that you do.

If you must visit a site mentioned in such a missive, because you think it really is legitimate, then have a look at the source of the message you received to see if the link really goes to the website of the trusted source or if it’s a decoy for a malware site. You could also then copy the actual link into an online malware scanner, such as VirusTotal, to double-check that it’s safe. Do that in an incognito tab in your browser and make sure you’re not logged into any sites in that browser window when you do.

Also, watch out for phishing hooks in your online calendar on dodgy websites and also watch out for websites that seem redirect to somewhere unexpected they may have been page hijacked.

But, there is another kind of scam that doesn’t involve links, indeed there is a type of attack that doesn’t even use bait. These are called no-hook phishing attacks. They’re more about social engineering (a confidence trick) rather than a technical attack.

Some of these emails are not aiming to scam you, but to legitimise an email address so that it can defeat spam filters and be used later for more conventional phishing attacks once the email systems perceive it as safe.

Anyway, back to the phish with no hooks. First, you receive an unexpected message on your device from someone you don’t know about something with which you’re not involved. You respond to let the correspondent know that you’re not actually the intended recipient, they reply with an apology and perhaps some other comment that then requires a further reply from you out of politeness. This is where it gets weird. The person you don’t know who accidentally contacted you is drawing you into a conversation, and you feel obliged to keep replying.

There is evidence that this kind of no-hook phishing attack can last for weeks before the payload is delivered. The scammer, having gained some degree of trust through the ongoing friendly conversation suggests you check out a website…or maybe even just suggests that you might like to know about an investment scheme through which they themselves have made a lot of money. It’s not genuine, it’s not banter, you’re being conned.

The bottom line should be don’t reply to their initial message out of politeness and you will never be sucked into the con trick. If you do happen to respond, remember the golden rule and don’t let your guard down: do not click any links in a message ever.

But, if no link ever arrives, be even more cautious when your new best friend pipes up with unsolicited investment advice or some other such nonsense.

Davey Winder discussed all of this in more detail in IT Pro here.