How Philly Learned to Love AI: Everything You Need to Know About Our Bot-Powered Future
AI Is reshaping every corner of Philadelphia. Are you ready for it? / Image generated by AI
Artificial intelligence is officially everywhere in Philly (including lots of places you’d never think to look). Here, everything you need to know about the brave new bot-powered world springing up all around us.
I Hosted a Podcast on Artificial Intelligence. Then My AI Doppelgänger Showed Up
I had just finished producing a podcast with WHYY and Princeton University about artificial intelligence called A.I. Nation, which, to my surprise, drew a sizable audience. I say “surprise” because I’m not a tech reporter. I’m actually more of a technophobe. So the notion that I could have an internet doppelgänger out there, unbeknownst to me, wasn’t all that surprising. But the who and especially the why of it all was baffling.
One writer’s wild journey into the uncanny valley of artificial intelligence. Keep reading …
Philly’s AI Revolution: 16 Fascinating Ways Philadelphia Is Using Artificial Intelligence
Comcast is just one Philly company using AI. / Photograph courtesy of Comcast
Mere human intelligence? That’s for plebeians and Luddites. If it suddenly feels like we’re all augmenting our game with artificial intelligence — that’s because we are. From pothole repair to emergency medical response to unraveling the mysteries of human biology, here’s a survey of some of the fascinating ways AI is being used in Philly. Keep reading …
Five Really Smart Philadelphians Talk About What AI Can (and Can’t) Do
We ask five really smart local leaders about the capabilities of AI technology (and, for fun, their favorite work of science fiction). Keep reading …
Should We Trust Artificial Intelligence? A Penn Expert Weighs In
Penn’s Chris Callison-Burch, an expert on AI and large language models who has been working and researching in the field since the early 2000s. / Photograph by Katherine Veri, Penn Engineering Online
As AI has become a part of our everyday lives, so has existential dread about where this whole “intelligent machines” thing will lead us. Rather than continue to fret into the wee hours of the morning, we reached out to a Penn professor to quell our fears. Chris Callison-Burch is an expert on artificial intelligence and large language models who has been working and researching in the field since the early 2000s. Within the past year, he has testified before Congress on the emergence of ChatGPT and helped launch the Ivy League’s first bachelor of science program in AI. Keep reading …
Point/Counterpoint: Educators and Students Weigh in on ChatGPT
University-based instructors make the case for artificial intelligence’s potential to level the educational playing field. Meanwhile, one Temple journalist argues that generative AI could defeat the purpose of education. Keep reading …
Quiz: Human-Made or AI-Generated?
Can you tell which one is a fake by ChatGPT?
1. Phillies Old-Timer (1920s)
A. Slim “Slingshot” Anderson
B. Grover “Old Pete” Alexander
2. Always Sunny Episode Title
A. “Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender”
B. “Dee and Dennis’s Dueling Doppelgängers”
3. Visit Philly Marketing Slogan
A. “Come For Philadelphia. Stay For Philly.”
B. “Philadelphia: Where History Meets Heartbeat!”
4. IKEA names
A. Hyggehaven Ottoman
B. Jockmokk Tableset
5. Recent Inquirer headline
A. “Boardwalk Empire Strikes Back: Atlantic City Revamps Its Classic Charm”
B. “Collingswood Wants to Cut Hair Salon’s Free Parking”
6. Line from a Naturalist Poem (Jack London)
A. A symphony of howls, a chorus bold
B. To see into the shadows shot with gold
7. Mummers Photo
8. Skyline Photo
Click for answers →
These are the AI fakes: 1 (A); 2 (B);. 3(B); 4(A); 5(A); 6(A); 7(B); 8(B).
So how’d you do?
Published as “How Philly Learned to Love AI” in the June 2024 issue of Philadelphia magazine.