Worried about AI? Don’t be it’s already here
Over the past few months, more than ever, AI has been the topic of conversation not only in the technology industry, but wider, in the mainstream media. This is partly due to the explosive release of ChatGPT back in November 2022.
When ChatGPT was released, the mainstream media started on the usual stream of doomsday stories about how artificial intelligence will take over the world. We’ve also heard from many industry experts in the media and in the US Congress about what the technology is, where it is heading, and in some cases, why we should stop it.
Back in June 2023, Prof Yann LeCun who is at the time of writing an AI scientist at Facebook owner Meta was quoted in the media as saying AI is not going to destroy jobs. I’m in the same camp as the professor, mainly because when it comes to software engineering, we have a great history of recognising risk, and if that risk is too great, we don’t build it.
These models are trained on previous information, they do not connect to the Internet, that makes them stateless. ChatGPT for instance, is trained up to 2021.
I do believe like the OpenAI founder Sam Altman said in his testimony to the US Congress, that AI does need regulation, it does need guardrails, just like many other industries. This in my mind, does not make it more dangerous.
I understand that many people in society, especially outside of the technology space, especially the older population who like human interaction and are nervous about loosing that interaction.
AI is already rooted in society
However, despite this worry, let’s not forget that AI is already embedded in our society. Let’s look at some of these examples.
- Hyper personalised adverts — We can create adverts that are personalised using cookie information, custom text and images based on who is looking at the advert.
- Food ordering — When you order on Deliveroo or JustEat, who picks up your order to deliver it to you is selected using AI and machine learning.
- Order a ride — Same with Uber or other ride sharing apps, the price of your trip and your driver are selected based on, again AI and machine learning.
Those are three popular and widely used examples, you could find tens or even hundreds more, from mortgage applications, all the way to border control systems.
While I also understand the argument about AI taking jobs, we are not discussing the number of jobs that AI has created and will continue to create.
If done properly, AI can empower the next generation of technology, empower healthcare professionals to make quicker diagnosis, with better outcomes for patients for example.
Summary
The reality is that we already use AI, and while the development of ChatGPT may scare people, let’s see it as an opportunity, let’s properly regulate and have solid ethics to ensure that if we see dangers, we don’t develop it.
