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Although machine learning models like ChatGPT have limitations and have attracted social attention, they are not as severe as suggested in the recent article ‘Noam Chomsky: The False Promise of ChatGPT.’ The relationship between technology and society is complex and multidimensional, influenced by social, cultural, economic, and political factors. The theoretical frameworks of social shaping and social construction of technology in Science and Technology Studies emphasise the role of social and cultural factors in shaping technological development and use.
Technologies are neither neutral nor value-free, but imbued with social and cultural meanings that reflect the interests and perspectives of their creators and users. According to Langdon Winner’s social shaping of technology perspective, technological development is shaped by social and cultural factors, including interests, values, and power relations. Similarly, the social construction of technology emphasises the role of social and cultural factors in shaping the way technologies are perceived and used in society.
It is not the technology itself that is the problem, but the way that it is perceived, utilised, shaped and constructed by human society, with the human brain at its core. The current most popular strain of A.I. – machine learning-based tools like ChatGPT – can be used to generate language in a variety of contexts, but it is up to humans to determine how to use that language in ways that are responsible and ethical to benefit society at large.
Although Chomsky and co-authors made arguments claiming that ChatGPT delivers false promises by lacking the capacity for moral thinking and unable to explain the rules of English syntax, they overlook its wide usability and its potential to bolster the global economy in the long run. Despite machine learning models not reasoning like humans, recent research shows that they are capable of producing coherent and fluent text in a variety of genres, and that they are capable of learning to avoid morally objectionable content.
Offensive and politically incorrect content originates from the human brain and is influenced by subjective social and cultural norms. It is crucial that the way these tools are utilised and shaped by society is responsible and ethical in determining their impact on our lives. As evolving technologies, it is up to humans to determine how to use these tools responsibly and ethically before outright criticism of their limitations.
