An Unlikely Discussion

PIRATE: slams tankard down Arr, I've been hearin' tales of these "artificial intelligences" — spirits trapped in boxes that answer any question ye ask. Sounds like a sea witch's trickery to me!

KNIGHT: Indeed, 'tis most curious. My squire spoke of such sorcery. A mind without a soul? The Church would have concerns about this... creation.

HACKER: adjusts backwards cap Okay, dudes, chill. They're not spirits OR sorcery. They're just, like, really complex pattern matching? Neural networks. Math. Lots and lots of math running on silicon.

PIRATE: So there be no treasure map it can conjure? No "X marks the spot"?

HACKER: I mean... you could probably ask it to MAKE you one? It's pretty rad at generating stuff. Text, code, images—

KNIGHT: hand on sword hilt It creates IMAGES? Like an illuminated manuscript?

HACKER: Way faster. Like, seconds.

PIRATE: strokes beard And what does this demon box demand in return? Souls? Gold doubloons?

HACKER: Electricity, mostly. And like... a terrifying amount of data. We're talking terabytes, man.

KNIGHT: I understand none of these words.

PIRATE: Aye. Same.