KQED's Forum Vauhini Vara’s Examines Selfhood with Assistance from ChatGPT
Apr 15, 2025
In this enlightening discussion, Vauhini Vara, a tech journalist and novelist renowned for her collection "Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age," explores the profound intersections of technology and grief. She shares her experience of processing her sister's death through conversations with an early version of ChatGPT. The talk dives into how technology shapes personal identity and creativity, the ethical implications of AI in art, and the tension between human emotion and machine interaction. Vara prompts listeners to reflect on their own experiences with technology and self-expression.
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Evolution of AI Language
- Vara experimented with early GPT-3 and found its language beautiful and creative.
- Later versions, like ChatGPT, prioritize instruction-following and predictability over creative language.
Search Engines as Intimacy
- Vara used search engines as a teen to avoid discussing difficult topics, like her sister's cancer, with people.
- This behavior highlights how technology can provide a sense of intimacy when human connection feels challenging.
AI and Grief
- Vara used GPT-3 to explore her grief over her sister's death, hoping for a breakthrough.
- While GPT-3 generated moving text, it ultimately produced falsehoods, highlighting the limitations of AI in capturing true human experience.