Here’s the rephrased content for improved logical flow and readability:
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Following up on yesterday’s interview with ChatGPT about meditation, I decided to give the AI a new challenge. I asked it to write a Buddhist sutta, in the style of the Pali canon, where the Buddha tells Ananda to stop playing Candy Crush on his iPhone.
Here’s what ChatGPT created:
Once, the Blessed One was staying at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. At that time, Venerable Ananda was hooked on playing Candy Crush on his iPhone.
The Blessed One approached Ananda and asked, “Ananda, what are you doing?”
Ananda replied, “I’m playing Candy Crush, Lord.”
The Buddha then said, “Ananda, this is not the path to liberation. Playing such games only leads to craving and attachment. To find true peace and wisdom, you must let go of these distractions and focus on virtuous and meaningful actions.”
Ananda listened to the Buddha’s advice. He put down his iPhone and resolved to give up his attachment to Candy Crush. He turned his attention to the Buddha’s teachings and soon realized the path to enlightenment.
And so it is said:
“Just as a bird is freed from its cage when the door is opened, so too one is freed from the bonds of ignorance and craving by practicing the path taught by the Buddha.”
Shifting to a more serious note, while AI like ChatGPT can be fun and useful, there’s also a dark side to this technology. The earlier versions of ChatGPT often contained inappropriate language because they were trained on vast amounts of internet data, much of which is toxic. To combat this, a program was developed to filter out harmful content. This process involved paying Kenyan workers as little as $1.32 an hour to read and categorize disturbing texts. These workers had to endure reading graphic descriptions of bestiality and pedophilia, which was deeply traumatizing.
The contract between OpenAI and the subcontractor ended after it came to light that Facebook had also used the same subcontractor to moderate content. Kenyan workers were paid about $1.50 an hour to view horrific images and videos of executions, rape, and child abuse. This type of work is extremely traumatizing.
So, while AI and social media can be entertaining, it’s important to recognize the exploitative practices behind the scenes.
For more insights into the intricacies of ChatGPT and its limitations, I highly recommend reading a thoughtful essay by Ted Chiang in The New Yorker:
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/chatgpt-is-a-blurry-jpeg-of-the-web