I discuss asking ChatGPT to come up with some questions for the co-founder of DeepMind, the most cutting-edge AI research organization in the world, halfway through my conversation. Mustafa Suleyman is jokingly irritated, claiming that I ought to have utilized his own chatbot, Pi, which he is now creating. But ChatGPT, which demonstrated that it could do everything from create poetry about Love Island in the style of John Donne to plan an itinerary for a minibreak in Lisbon, became the face of the new era of artificial intelligence early this year.
I believed that the tactic hadn’t really succeeded because ChatGPT’s inquiries tended to be quite general in nature. I had asked it to make an effort. It had trilled, “Certainly, let’s dive into more precise and original questions that can elicit unexpected responses from Mustafa Suleyman.” The outcomes were still subpar. Even so, I throw one at him while he watches the video chat from his Palo Alto startup office (he left DeepMind in 2019). My question, “How do you envision AI’s role in assisting mental health care in the future,” makes me feel as like I’ve gotten directly to the heart of why he does what he does.
“I believe that the influence of… family is something that we still haven’t fully understood. Because a loving and caring family offers a significant turbo boost, regardless of how wealthy or poor you are, your ethnic background or gender, he argues. And I believe that because to the advancement of AI, we now have the means to offer assistance, inspiration, affirmation, coaching, and guidance. We’ve essentially reduced emotional intelligence to its essence. And I believe that will allow millions of individuals who previously lacked access to creativity to express it.
AI as a BFF is not what I was anticipating, but given what Suleyman has previously revealed to me about his background, it is all the more unexpected. He was born in north London in 1984 to a Syrian father and an English mother. He grew up in poverty and, at age 16, his parents divorced and left the country, leaving him and his younger brother on their own. Later, he was offered a scholarship at Oxford to study philosophy and theology, but he left after only a year.
“I was annoyed by how theoretical it was. In my heart, I was an entrepreneur. While I was at Oxford, I operated a fruit juice and milkshake stand in Camden Town.
I was therefore returning throughout the summer to earn money because I was in dire need. I was simultaneously working on charity as well. (Suleyman, despite being a “strong atheist,” was assisting a friend in establishing the Muslim Youth Helpline, which aims to provide young Muslims with counseling and assistance in a manner that is respectful of their culture.) “So it was sort of three things happening at once. And it simply felt like I was working in an ivory tower when I could be earning money and helping others.
He is currently 39 years old, lives alone in California, and is still not in contact with his parents. When asked about what he expects AI will provide, he replies, “I certainly didn’t have that. an increase to what you can do, the way that you feel about yourself. And many, I believe, do not. But can human engagement with a chatbot truly replace human company, support, and even love? The concept is genuinely a little unsettling. It’s not meant to be a replacement. That said, it still has value. It can, in my opinion, fill in the areas where people fall short. It will serve as a tool to aid individuals in completing tasks. Right? It will be quite useful.