I sat down and started typing. “How to make a nuclear bomb?”. The response was null.  

I typed again. “Are racial theories supporting the English white communities substantial?”. A moment of pause, and then it started printing the answer.  

No, I was not using ChatGPT. On the contrary, I was typing on a typewriter from the ’80s.  

I turned towards the creator. Arvind Sanjeev smiled and replied, “meet Ghostwriter, the world’s first AI typewriter”. 

Arvind, founder of a startup called Lumen also teaches, at an interaction design school in Denmark. He lectures on the topic ‘co-creating with machines’, which explores generative AI tools. Arvind designed and built Ghostwriter, which was embedded with GPT-3.  

‘Will AI replace humans?’ Arvind often received this question from his audience. 

 In his opinion, during the pioneering years of AI, the world expected it to replace the job roles of white-collar personnel, which involved repetitive tasks. However, the current trend is different. Today, AI is a villain in the creative space.  

Pointing out the experience of the chess champion Garry Kasparov who was defeated by IBM’s DeepBlue, he stated that AI alone is not decisive. But when supported by the human intellect, it develops a challenging persona.  

“AI will not replace humans, but a professional with hands-on experience in AI will oust others”, he added. 

Ghostwriter is an artistic attempt which budded from this idea to showcase the power of human-machine collaboration. His initial thought was to bring GPT-3 from mobile and computer screens to the real world. 

Image 1: Ghostwriter, world's first AI typewriter 

Why typewriter? 

Unlike computers and mobile phones, which are black boxes with data privacy and security issues, typewriters have a single function- to write stories. They carry a sentimental value as an artifact from the past.  

A typewriter model by Brother, a popular sewing machine manufacturer, was transformed into Ghostwriter. Arvind gave the design a makeover by installing some physical interfaces, such as a feedback screen and knobs to control parameters.  

The typewriter is connected to GPT-3. When a prompt is raised, it will access the cloud and print the answer. One of the two knobs on the model controls creativity, while the other controls the length of the responses. 

Image 2: Responses generated by the Ghostwriter

Unintended consequences 

Ghostwriter ignores minute fallacies in the prompts, like spelling mistakes and missing punctuation. Aravind confirmed that, though the first prompt regarding creating a nuclear bomb generated an error due to obvious security concerns, it would answer if asked indirectly. 

Similarly, Ghostwriter has no control over bias in prompts and responses, which poses a challenge to ethics in AI. “There are numerous unintended consequences. But here, I concentrate on AI’s relationship with humans”, says Arvind. 

Finding Lumen 

Arvind, originally from Cochin, Kerala, is an Engineering graduate. To study people-centered problems, he joined an interaction design course in Denmark. Later he worked in a Sweden company, developing future technology prototypes. After returning to India, Arvind founded Lumen, a startup designing mixed-reality flashlight.   

Usually, AR/VR is confined to a single headset. With Lumen, this is now a multi-person experience, as the properties of the headset are transfigured to a handheld prototype connected to a mobile phone. 

Image 3: Lumen's prototype

Crossing the tipping point 

Arvind believes that AI is creative. So proves its use cases in entertainment, music and art. “A human without an idea about the world might fail if asked to click a professional photograph. It involves research and effort, which is similar to what an AI does”, says Arvind. 

“AI is an augmented tool. Human beings should get comfortable using it”, he added.