Generative AI, augmented intelligence, machine learning- these topics have dominated the conversation around tech in 2023, and by now we’ve all heard the rumors: AI is coming for your job, it will take your family, and it will eat the food off your dinner plate, but is there any truth behind this?
To find out more, we went to the ground floor of the new tech sector, where technology meets culture, and the South meets the Southwest.
Webster’s dictionary defines AI as “the simulation of human behavior in computers”. Sounds harmless right? But with the exploding popularity of generative chat bots like ChatGPT, many people are reexamining where they stand on the technological food chain.
Ian Beacraft is one of the leading voices in deep tech and AI. His company, Signal and Cipher, teaches large companies how to adapt to new technology.
“Generative ai is here. it’s in everyone’s palms and it’s not going anywhere,” says Ian, telling Yahoo Finance that we’ve only scratched the surface of what AI can do.
“We are at the very beginning of one of the biggest revolutions in knowledge work in human history and a lot of people look at this as a large step change in the way that we do our work… what we’re doing is we are digitizing skills the same way that we mechanized physical labor in the industrial revolution… we’re doing things at a scale, at a volume, and at a breadth that human minds aren’t really capable of.”
So, will the rise of AI lead to job losses? And if so, why should we embrace this technology?
We met with Garry Kasparov, the former chess Grandmaster, famous for his series of chess matches against the 1980’s supercomputer, “Deep Blue”.
“Every new technology in the past has threatened jobs, actually destroyed jobs, destroyed industry before creating new opportunities,” Kasparov told us.
“AI is not the exception. Machines made us stronger in the past, made us faster in the past… so, many jobs we are doing today, in my view, are like zombie jobs. They’re already dead. They just don’t know yet.”
So far, our experts have not painted a particularly rosy picture for the future of mankind, so we went directly to the source. You know what they say- keep your enemies close.
According to ChatGPT,
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to greatly impact the future of humanity in both positive and negative ways. On the positive side, AI has the potential to improve many aspects of our lives, such as healthcare, education, and transportation.”
That doesn’t sound too bad, but it goes on:
“One major concern is that as AI systems become more advanced, they may become difficult to control, potentially leading to unintended consequences or even catastrophic outcomes.”
Therein lies the concern, and why many in the tech industry are approaching AI with a good deal of caution.
“People are getting freaked out. They’re saying ‘Hey, what is this thing? Can we trust it?’”
“I see both sides of the argument. and, you know, in some ways, there is a lot of opportunity, but on the other hand, we also have to be careful, just like with any technology,” says Pulkit Agrawal, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at MIT.
Instead of thinking of AI as a replacement for human beings, according to Pulkit, we should think of AI as a tool.
Like the invention of the PC, artificial intelligence may actually improve our work and make humans more efficient in performing our day-to-day tasks.
“If an AI system can look at CT scans, and make a diagnosis, is it going to replace a doctor or not? I would say no. I think the right way to implement the system is to make the system be an advisor to a doctor, because this AI system has looked at more CT scans than any doctor could have looked in his life,” Pulkit says.
While the possibilities for AI may seem limitless, it could be the key to unlocking the potential of the human brain.
More Yahoo Finance coverage here:
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