This year’s topic of conversation has been generative artificial intelligence, which has captured the public’s attention and sparked a rush among tech giants like Google and Microsoft to create products based on technology they believe will revolutionize nature of work
Here’s everything you need to know about this technology.
What is generative AI?
Generative AI, like other types of artificial intelligence, learns to operate from past data. Instead of simply categorizing or recognizing data, it generates entirely new material based on that training, such as a narrative, an image, or even computer code.
The most well-known application of generative AI is ChatGPT, a chatbot that launched OpenAI with support from Microsoft in late 2022. Its AI is a massive language model, as it reads a text message and creates a similar response from it to a human GPT-4, a very recent model that OpenAI recently introduced, is “multimodal” in that it can understand both text and visuals. Recently, the head of OpenAI showed how a real website could be created from a snapshot of a hand-drawn mockup he wanted to create.
What is it for?
Companies are already using generative AI, despite relatively limited demonstrations. For example, technology helps create a first draft of marketing copy. However, this draft should be cleaned by professionals. One such example comes from CarMax, which used a variant of OpenAI’s technology to collect tens of thousands of user reviews and help buyers select the used car they should buy.
During a virtual meeting, generative AI is able to take notes. You can also make slideshows and generate personalized emails. At product launches this week, Google and Microsoft showcased these functionalities.
Should we be worried?
There are concerns about the potential misuse of the technology. Academics are concerned that students are submitting essays written by artificial intelligence, undermining the effort required to study. In addition, cybersecurity experts have raised concerns that generative AI will allow bad actors, including governments, to manufacture far more misinformation than they already can.
Also, the technology itself is prone to errors. Companies have worked to evaluate the technology before making it generally available due to errors of fact or boldly asserted errors of fact by the AI, and responses that erratically sound like declarations of love to the ‘user.
Is it just Google and Microsoft?
These two companies are the largest to include generative AI in widely used programs like Microsoft Word and Gmail, and are at the forefront of research and investment in large language models. But, they are not alone.
How is Elon Musk involved?
Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI along with Sam Altman. However, Musk stepped down from the startup’s board in 2018 to avoid a conflict of interest between OpenAI’s work and AI research conducted by Tesla, the electric vehicle maker he oversees.
Musk has expressed concern about the future of AI and has argued for a regulatory body to ensure the technology’s advancement promotes the greater good.
“It’s a pretty dangerous technology. I’m afraid I could have done some things to speed it up,” Musk said near the end of Tesla’s Investor Day event earlier this month.
