February 2023
- Pavan Soni
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
This edition of Inflexion Point shares the inside story of ChatGPT, what kind of problems quantum computing can solve and even create, how scientists are using AI to talk to animals, the hacks of over achievers to fight anxiety, and they way the Theory of Mind predicts life outcomes.
Hope you find these useful.
Within five days of its release, more than 1 million people had played with ChatGPT, a milestone Facebook took 10 months to hit. ChatGPT is doing what Netscape Navigator did to the Internet or what iPod did to MP3 music. Sam Altman, the 37-year-old cofounder and CEO has turned OpenAI and the broader A.I. mission into the thing captivating the tech world, cornering $10 billion of investment from Microsoft, deeply worrying Google and others. Remember the company has just about 300 members and they are already creating buzz and worry. (Source: Fortune)
One of the world's most sophisticated quantum computers sits at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center in New York State’s Westchester County, at 0.015 kelvins—a smidgen above absolute zero and colder than outer space. IBM has over 60 functioning quantum computers—more than the rest of the world combined. The strength of quantum is that it mimics nature, and that's where its applications are. Notwithstanding its brilliant applications in science and commerce, researchers fear that its problem-solving capacity will soon render all existing cryptography obsolete, jeopardizing communications, financial transactions, and even military defenses. (Source: Time)
A new field of science, digital bioacoustics, enables scientists to use advanced sensors and artificial intelligence technology to observe and decode how a broad range of species, including plants, already share information with their own communication methods. This deep listening can lead to two discoveries: the language in nonhumans, and that we’re at the brink of interspecies communication. Study on communication among bats and bees is promising and AI is helping us decode the means of sound and non-sound communications among animals. (Source: Scientific American)
Here are the 11 most common thought traps—all-or-nothing thinking, labeling, jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing, filtering, discounting the positive, “should” statements, social comparison, personalization and blaming, ruminating, and emotional reasoning. Next are the strategies for overcoming these. Such thought traps, or cognitive distortion, can render the best of us incapacitated. One of the coping mechanisms is practicing self-compassion. Another useful tip is to workout physically to create the brain-body separation. And certainly meditation always helps. (Source: HBR)
The Theory of Mind (TOM) refer to the ability to understand the thoughts, beliefs, desires, and emotions of others. Research suggests that childhood TOM is also associated with enhanced adult social skills, higher educational participation, and lower fertility in young adulthood. The impact seems to be more pronounced than verbal or mathematical ability. This capacity of perspective taking enables emotional intelligence and eventually better social outcomes. How can it be developed? Explore emotions in children. (Source: Psychology Today)
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