Dream Machine: AI and the Real World
author: Appen and Laurent Daudet
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the publisher: context
price:599 rupees
page:167
This book claims to be the first graphic novel about AI, and it probably is. It is certainly, if not the first, to consider both the promise of large-scale AI models currently being developed if they fall into the wrong hands, and the dystopian future we are staring into. This is the most detailed and thoughtful book. The hands of an ambitious technology tycoon and a global politician who aim to conquer the world.
This graphic novel is written by George Masen, an Indian-born visual artist and musician, better known by his pen name Appupen. Appupen is well known for his use of black humor and satire in his often dark graphic novels, and is the creator of an alternate world called Haruhara, on which much of his work is based.
Co-author Laurent Daudet, a French physics professor and co-founder of LightOn, an AI startup working on GenAI for enterprises, has a stated ambition to push the boundaries of very large-scale AI. was established with
While this collaboration worked beautifully, the final product is not for the faint of heart or those who don't yet understand advances in AI.
The narration and illustration styles also change from time to time throughout the book. Here's the candid story of promising Gen AI startup founder Hugo Klein and his startup KLAI. Hugo is probably based on Daudet. Indeed, it reflects his thoughts.
KLAI is trying to sign a contract with a high-tech giant called REAL.E, and if the deal is successful, Hugo's company will jump into the major leagues. KLAI recently achieved a breakthrough in training large-scale language models (LLMs) for Arabic and Hindi. REAL.E is interested in partnering with KLAI on the Metaverse game he is building.
Being able to offer multiple languages to potential customers would dramatically increase REAL.E's potential market size.
REAL.E wants KLAI to sign an exclusive contract. Initially it was Arabic and Hindi, but later all languages he wants KLAI to reserve.
Hugo's girlfriend is Anna. Although Anna is also an engineer, she keeps Hugo away from the escapades into fantasy that he tends to fall into.
Hugo has some trepidation about REAL.E, but nothing major. Until he met Aiyo, an artist and storyteller from India, he often created comics built around conspiracy theories. Ayo is probably Appupen's alter ego.
The story seamlessly transitions from a simple story of transactions in the AI technology field to a superhero story (SuperHugo).
Three separate stories or storylines are woven into this novel. The first, of course, concerns KLAI and his girlfriend's REAL.E contract. The second story is a fascinating history of AI. It's short, but nothing important is left unsaid. The third story is about the potential for malicious use of increasingly powerful AI models if they fall into the wrong hands. All issues of responsible and ethical AI and the guardrails that need to be built into an LLM will be considered in all their nuances.
REAL.E appears to be loosely based on Meta (Facebook), but may be a conglomerate of several large technology companies (Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Google). The games the company is building are OpenAI demonstrating ChatGPT, all tech companies using GenAI and LLM and underlying models, and machines being as good as humans at a variety of general-purpose tasks.
Hugo becomes increasingly concerned that REAL.E's games will drain all knowledge from the players and eventually replace them with even more powerful virtual avatars. Eventually, humans may be stripped of all identity.
That's not the only danger. REAL.E is also working with Turkmenistan's leaders to build a model in which free or fair elections can never be held and once someone comes to power, they can remain in power with REALE's support. , seems to be in operation. Power forever.
In the corporate world, as AI becomes more powerful, it will begin to replace humans in all jobs with virtual personas, which will soak up all the knowledge and make the jobs of the earlier humans who filled these roles redundant. I'll make it.
Given the fact that new generations of AI models consume vast amounts of the planet's resources (power, water, minerals, etc.), their contribution to real-world problems such as global warming, education, and poverty is also being explored. , so far it's insignificant.
This is an excellent work that examines all the issues of AI in detail and perfectly illustrates them. The story is well told, but the jumps between different narrations take a few minutes to get used to. Highly recommended for AI believers, but not for the general public.
The reviewer is a former editor of Business Today and Businessworld and founder of Prosaic View, an editorial consultancy.
