AI gives credence to my claim - 1 -

 Vaհe Apelian

Today, Varoujan J. Bedros, brought to my attention that ChatGPT, gives credence to my claim that the poem “Fear”, widely attributed to Gibran Khalil Gibran, is not written by him. 

ChatGPT stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer". It's a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic human conversation.” (Wikipedia). This will be my first experience with AI.

This is what GPT is reporting: “Upon further research, it appears that the poem “Fear” is widely attributed to Kahlil Gibran across various online platforms. However, there is no concrete evidence that this poem is part of Gibran’s published works. Notably, V.H. Apelian’s blog discusses this misattribution and suggests that the poem’s cotent aligns closely with the teaching of Osho  (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh), an Indian spiritual leader. In his book “Beyong Enlightment”, Osho uses a similar river-ocean metaphor to illustrate the dissolution of fear through embracing the vastness of existence. (VHAPELIANBLOGSPOT.COM). Therefore, it is likely that the poem “Fear” is not authored by Kahlil Gibran but has been misattributed to him over tme. For accurate information of Gibran’s works, consulting his published collections and verified translations is recommended”. 

My jaw dropped reading this well worded summary and the logic behind it. Reading about AI is one thing, but experiencing it first hand is altogether another thing. I feel that I am disarmed and that we indeed have stepped in a new era. 

I am reminded of Gary Kasparov losing to IMB’s Deep Blue, I quote “In 1997, the world witnessed a historic moment in the world of chess when Garry Kasparov, the reigning world chess champion, faced off against Deep Blue, an advanced chess-playing computer developed by IBM. The match, held in New York City, was a high-stakes battle between human intellect and artificial intelligence. Kasparov, widely regarded as the greatest chess player of all time, had been dominating the game for years, while Deep Blue, a computer with the capability to analyze millions of positions per second, represented the cutting edge of technology. The stakes were high, as this was the first time a computer had been able to compete against and challenge a world champion in such a manner. Kasparov's match against Deep Blue captured the imagination of the public and became a symbol of the potential conflict between man and machine in the realm of intellectual endeavors. The match was played over six games, and although Kasparov won the first game, Deep Blue ultimately triumphed, defeating him 3.5–2.5. This victory was seen as a major milestone in the development of artificial intelligence, as it proved that computers could not only excel at complex tasks but could also challenge even the best human minds. The image of Kasparov, his intense concentration evident during the match, became emblematic of the pressure faced by human players in an age increasingly dominated by technology.” 

I remember very well when I first read the poem “Fear” with Kahlil Gibran’s name under the poem. I even remember the person who had posted it. But there is no need to go there. Customarily a poet’s name is placed under the poem indicating authorship. But there was something amiss there for me.  I commented about my concern. But I was rebuffed.

I too have read Kahlil Gibran’s famous book, “The Prophet”. In fact, I have gifted the book to friends. There is no poem titled “Fear” there. To assure myself I bought Kahlil Gibran’s complete work and also his poems translated from Arabic as I blogged my increasing conviction that Kahlil Gibran did not write the poem “Fear”. 

It so happened that my friend Ara Mekhsian was following my blogs. It was he who brought to my attention about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, an Indian spiritual leader, and his book “Beyong Enlightenment”. 

Those who are interested in the three blogs I penned disputing Kahlil Gibran’s ownership of the poem “Fear”, may read the following link: https://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/07/did-kahlil-gibran-write-poem-fear-33-no_29.html

As to AI’s ChatGPT.

What’s next?

Will we live to see AI read out thoughts before we utter them or ink them?