THE FUSE

Today, with Meta AI integrated into WhatsApp, Gemini augmenting Google search results, while ChatGPT and Grok are turned to for everything from homework help to relationship advice, it seems impossible for anyone remotely tech-connected to operate outside the reach of AI. Yet, few seem to question the nature of what they’re interacting with – the very words “artificial intelligence” implying a mind whose use of language invites one to imagine the existence of a consciousness, albeit a sort of digital ‘spark in a jar.’ What, then, actually is AI, and where might it be taking us?