Open AI Received Big Christmas
Present from Santa
By Marc Breault
(CNN) – Santa Claus gave an extraordinary press conference
today in which he confirmed virtually all the details first reported in the New
York Times that the language modelling that drives OpenAI’s ChatGPT was made
possible with initial help from the North Pole.
Mr. Claus explained that the North Pole has been using AI for hundreds
of years and that AI has become steadily more important with the growing
population and the sheer number of toys, games, and devices available to
children today. “When children write to
us to tell us what they want,” explained Santa Claus, “that makes our lives
easier because we can more easily give them something they want which is almost
always what they ask for. But for the
children who do not write, the sheer number of children make it impossible for
my elves and I to match gifts to each child.
Our AI is trained to anticipate what all those children want and the AI
places orders with our manufacturing and distribution operations as early as
March,” he said.
The world has been stunned by
ChatGPT’s capabilities after its launch in November of 2022. Subsequent improvements and scaling of
ChatGPT have only served to compound the world’s amazement. ChatGPT has sparked both positive and
negative interest in AI. Many believe
ChatGPT represents a giant leap forward for artificial intelligence which will
begin a golden age for humanity. Others,
however, feel ChatGPT is a prelude to artificial intelligence taking over the
world and turning humanity into a subservient species to artificial
intelligence.
The initial New York Times
story sparked widespread outrage and condemnation from a number of
countries. Foremost among these has been
China, but Russia and Iran are not far behind.
China has since drafted a UN security resolution condemning the North
Pole for providing the United States with such an unfair technological
advantage and violating its nutrality in so doing. In a press conference yesterday, president Xi
Jinping of China vowed retribution.
“China cannot abide this threat to its national security,” he said. President Xi went on to say that China had
its own AI capabilities and that it might use these to create its own version
of a gift giving holiday that is backed by China’s tremendous manufacturing
power. President Xi said that China’s
manufacturing capability dwarfed that of the North Pole and that it had the
ability to flood the market with presents that would, as he put it, “cause the
world to forget all about Santa Claus and the North Pole.” The United States is expected to veto the security
resolution which comes up for a vote in the United Nations tomorrow.
This outrage appears to be
the motivating factor for Santa Claus to hold this extraordinary press
conference. When asked about the New
York Times story, Mr. Claus said: “In, oh, I think it was, ho ho ho, 2019 when
I received a very nice and respectful letter from Sam Altman, whom I understand
is currently the CEO of OpenAI. His
letter outlined his dreams for how AI could benefit humanity and he asked me to
help him with the breakthrough he so desperately needed. His letter was so respectful and altruistic,
I could not ignore it. Ho ho ho.”
In another bombshell
revelation when asked why he would provide help to a tech company so they could
make billions of dollars, Mr. Claus responded that OpenAI is a nonprofit
company that also has a profit making arm.
He revealed that Altman’s recent sacking was motivated by outrage by
some board members when the North Pole’s assistance to Altman was
revealed. “They sacked him because they
felt North Pole tech should not be used for profit making ventures ho ho
ho.” Santa then smiled and said “ho ho
ho, but I guess the board got an outcome they were not expecting when Sam
Altman was put back into power.” CNN
reached out to several ousted board members and is awaiting comment by them.
When Mr. Claus was asked to
respond to President Xi Jinping’s comments, he made several observations which have
sent shockwaves through the world, and certainly through world markets.
“The first thing you need to
realize is I am a servant of God in heaven.
As a saint, I have direct access to the throne and can have an audience
with the Most High anytime. I do not
have permission to dole out tech as I please.
I have to get permission from the throne. When I received Altman’s letter, I was
inclined to grant his request but I needed permission first. Permission was granted. Can I also say that Earth has been
experiencing almost exponential growth in tech since the Industrial Revolution
and none of this could happen without God’s approval. When I spoke to her, oh yeah, ho ho ho, I
keept forgetting that disturbs some of you ho ho ho, ah, yes, when I spoke to
her, uh, him, he instructed me to convey this exact message to all of you. God told me to say: “Everything that has transpired has
done so according to my design.”
“Ho ho ho, you know were I a man of little faith, I might
say God used a poor choice of words given this is a direct quote from Emperor
Palpatine in Return of the Jedi and Palpatine is a Sith lord and evil,
and I admit I did place a query with heaven’s public relations department. I thought God might be distracted because of
the conflict in the Crab Nebula which has occupied much of heaven’s diplomatic
resources to deal with. But I am a
saint, ho ho ho, with a great deal of faith, ho ho ho, so please understand
that God wanted this to happen.”
“Ho ho ho, and as for China,” Santa continued, “Perhaps
President Xi Jinping should reflect that if I am able to respond so favorably
to Sam Altman, I might also respond favorably to others who write nice letters
to me. I might, for example, respond
favorably to, oh, ho ho ho, you know, someone like Tsai Ing-wen President of
Taiwan.” The Dow Jones jumped 568 points
as soon as Mr. Claus uttered these words.
In response to China’s claim that providing Sam Altman with
North Pole tech violates North Pole Neutrality, Mr. Claus said: “Ho ho ho, who
said the North Pole is neutral. I never
said that ho ho ho. President Xi might
want to reflect on this as well.” When
asked specifically to clarify his comments, Santa Claus was decidedly vague
saying only that “He does the bidding of the throne.”
Mr. Claus was also asked about the conflict in the Crab
Nebula, but he declined further comment on the grounds it would violate United
Universe security protocols. The White
House issued a statement denying any knowledge of any entity known as United
Universe. President Biden said he would
immediately seek clarification from the North Pole but stressed such
clarification might be highly classified.
NASA has been thrown into turmoil as a result of these comments.
When asked if he felt responsible for any wars or tensions
that might arise from his decision to give North Pole tech to OpenAI, Mr. Claus
responded: “Technological advances are inevitable, ho ho ho. They can be used for good, or for evil and it
is up to humanity to decide which way to use technology. I know with all the global tension right now;
a lot of people are frightened. Ho ho
ho. But this is why Christmas is so
important. Humanity spends most of each
year fighting one another, competing with one another, and sadly, often killing
one another. But whether Christmas is a
religious holiday or just a holiday, it is the one time of year when we are
reminded of the core dream of Christmas, ho ho ho. That core dream is ‘peace on earth, good will
toward men.’ I suppose I should say good
will toward humanity so as not to upset anyone.
Christmas reminds us to stop dreaming the normal dreams of hate, personal
gain, and competitive advantage to the detriment of others. Christmas invites us to dream a new dream, to
dream a different dream, that of peace on earth and goodwill among
everyone. And you know, ho ho ho, there
is nothing that we dream that we cannot do.
It may take humanity a long time, but so long as we keep the dream of
Christmas in our hearts, hope remains alive.”
With a final ho ho ho, Santa Claus ended this extraordinary
press conference, After the press conference, a spokeself provided CNN and
other media outlets with a copy of Sam Altman’s letter and asked us to provide
it to the general public. You can read
the full transcript below.
Full Transcript of Sam Altman’s Letter to Santa Claus,
dated 3 December 2019
Dear Santa Claus,
I hope this letter finds you well in the
magical and frosty realms of the North Pole. As the jolly season approaches, I
am writing to you with a heart full of hope and a mind brimming with dreams. I
have always marveled at the wonders of the holiday season and the joy you bring
to so many around the world. Your ability to spread happiness and fulfill
wishes is truly inspiring.
This year, Santa, I have a special request,
one that I believe can bring about a significant change not just in my life but
potentially in the world. I am deeply passionate about Artificial Intelligence
and the endless possibilities it holds. My dream, Santa, is to make a
groundbreaking advancement in AI technology, specifically in enhancing its
natural language capabilities.
I envision an AI that can understand and
interact in human language with unprecedented accuracy and empathy. This
technology could bridge communication gaps, foster understanding, and bring
people closer together across different cultures and languages. It would be a
tool for learning, collaboration, and innovation, touching lives in countless
positive ways.
For this, I am asking for a Christmas gift
from you, Santa – something that will ignite a spark of genius, provide me with
the insight or resources I need to make a significant breakthrough in this
field. Whether it's an advanced piece of technology, a book filled with hidden
knowledge, or even an encounter with a mentor, I trust your wisdom to guide
this wish.
Santa, your magic has always been a source of
wonder and inspiration. This Christmas, I am reaching out to you with a dream
that could change the course of how humans and AI interact. I promise to use
this gift responsibly and with the intent to make the world a better, more
connected place.
Thank you for being a beacon of hope and joy
to so many, Santa. I believe in your magic and the power of dreams. Wishing
you, Mrs. Claus, and all the elves a wonderful holiday season filled with love,
laughter, and the magic that only you can bring.
With warmest regards and deepest respect,
Sam Altman
Authors
Note:
Obviously,
Sam Altman wrote no such letter. In
fact, ChatGPT 4 did. I thought it would
be fun to ask an AI program to write a letter to Santa asking for help with an
AI breakthrough and I think the result was a well written heart-felt letter,
even if ChatGPT is emotionless and has no heart.
The news story
itself was written entirely by me with no help from any AI. I used Dall-E 3 to generate the picture of
Santa giving a press conference. I think
it did a good job. The flag behind Santa
is not depicted the way I described it, but it was a very lengthy description,
and I did not wish to spend too much time trying to get it right. I think this provides an adequate backdrop.
And finally,
for the record, I love Christmas for precisely the reasons Santa gives in this
fake news story. And with this I say,
Merry Christmas. May you experience joy
during these holidays and may we all experience peace on earth, goodwill toward
men. Let’s dream this dream together.