Last week we took a look at AI and its’ emerging uses in education. This week I will look at how AI is used in writing. The systems are getting better and better. At some point in the future we will not be able to distinguish between something written by a human and something written by a machine. How close are we to that time?
AI writing tools
Open AI is one of the leaders in this space. Open AI was founded by a group of Silicon Valley luminaries including Elon Musk of PayPal, Tesla and Space X (he has since quit Open AI) and Sam Altman, Chairman of Y Combinator. Peter Tiel (PayPal and early Facebook investor) , Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) are also big supporters.
On 20 August 2019 they released the latest version of GPT2 (AI writing generator). It has 774 million parameters. A more advanced version (with 1558 million parameters) has been developed but has not yet been released.
So how good is this AI. Adam King has built a tool for us to test the AI ourselves. Try it here, it is free and fun to use. I have tried a few examples. Judge for yourself how good the AI is at finishing the paragraph. I have written the piece in bold. The AI has written the part in italics.
“I walked into the supermarket, hungry and ready to eat. As I walked through the door with my shopping basket, I saw that one of my most important family friends was at the checkout counter.
I had already noticed him a couple of times through the past year. He was always smiling. Even when I would see him buying things like candy or the latest iPhone. In fact, he often bought more often than the clerk took in.
I had to tell my husband in a whisper that I hoped my shopping partner went by his real name, or he would be a danger to myself and others. He wasn't a threat to anyone, except maybe my parents.
"What happened?" my husband asked me.
After he realized how serious my message was, he said "This isn't your problem. I think his real name is John."
I felt like crying. I knew he was my friend and a good person. I just felt I'd let him down.
Since then, I've gone about my business using his name. But whenever I try using it on Facebook or through email I”
The writing is somewhat coherent within each sentence however the AI appears to change subject a couple of times. Meaning is difficult to understand at times.
What if we ask the AI to finish a much more important statement. My writing is in bold and the AI in italics.
“What's on Craig's Mind?” is the greatest weekly newsletter ever written. It is filled with great advice from people who are on your mind - whether they are on your mind the most, or not at all! The newsletter is filled with a variety of subjects that will help you be your best. It is written by real, living people who you can expect to receive their best possible advice on a variety of different topics.
Again, there is some truth here. The newsletter is filled with a variety of subjects and it will help you be your best. I am real (for now) and living. You can expect to receive the best possible advice. However the writing is not as coherent as you would expect from a human writer. Open AI still has work to do.
AI Grammar Tools
There are a range of AI based grammar tools that will help us improve our writing. Grammarly is a browser extension that will check your grammar and spelling as you write. There is a free version and a paid version. The free version checks spelling and basic grammar. I have been using it for a number of months and the free version does pick up spelling errors and the simple grammatical errors that reduce the quality of our written communications.
My complaints about Grammarly are that it uses very American speech patterns and when checking emails it checks the entire string of emails. Grammarly uses gamification techniques to encourage use (achievement badges etc.). I work with quite a number of people based in Asia where English is not their first language so I get huge error counts from their writing. Not great for my accuracy scores or my ego.
Google has also just updated their AI for correcting grammar. Here are some examples from Google, of the tool at work.
Once we all start using these AI tools to write and improve our writing, how will we tell what is real and what is fake?
AI that can detect AI written content
The answer is that we develop an AI to catch the AI. Simple!
Harvard University and MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab researchers recently developed a new tool that spots text that has been generated by AI. The tool, called the Giant Language Model Test Room (GLTR), takes advantage of the fact that AI text generators use fairly predictable statistical patterns in text.
This passage from 1984 by George Orwell has been analyzed by the system.
Green words are the most predictable, purple the least predicable with red and yellow in between. The range of words and the unpredictable nature of the use of some words indicates this is written by a human. Possible proof that Orwell was not an AI with a time machine. No doubt future versions of AI writing tools will be able to emulate the writing style of even the greatest writers. You can try the analysis tool here.
AI Translation tools
We have all used Google Translate and the translation on Facebook, Twitter and other sites and laughed at their translations. The systems are however, getting better and better.
One Australian startup working in this area is Video Translator. They provide real time transcription and translation of video, audio and text. If you have a video that you want translated you can try the system for free. They currently work in 60 languages. The system is used to save translators time in translating video and audio. The AI will compile an initial translation that an expert translator can easily and quickly correct. It is a great system for smaller businesses and influencers to gain access to translation in multiple languages at a much lower cost, allowing them to expand their reach quickly and effectively.
One day this newsletter will be available in 60 languages with an AI talking head reading the newsletter to you on video. Till then, I will keep writing this myself.
Future You
A quick note on the Future You conference to be held in Sydney on 4 September. “Future You Unleashed” exists as a social enterprise, committed to making a difference to the lives and futures of high school students. Their work acts to foster an ecosystem, bringing together schools, mentors and strategic partners to create an environment for young people to flourish. The summit brings together a number of young people that have successfully achieved their dreams, to inspire the high school students of today.
Tickets are very affordable and available here. I and the organisers would really appreciate it if you would share this on Facebook, Twitter etc.
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product, ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and give the start-up a shout out to my readers if it is something that I think they could use. If you have any questions or comments please email me via my website craigcarlyon.com
Till next week.