The Rise of the Machines?
There is a lot of talk at present about ChatGPT, Bard and AI in general. So are machines going to take over the world?
In a word, “no”. AI for all it’s benefits is exactly what it says “Artificial”. These systems don’t generate new thinking, what they do is to allow us to see connections in data which previously were to too abstract to find. How is this magic possible? Because of the ever-increasing amount of computational power in the world, and the reduction in cost this brings about.
We are at the edge of massive change, but it is a change brought on by the availability of compute capacity on a global scale. This is what makes things like OpenAI possible. Until very recently, the cost of such computational power meant that these systems were just not practical to build.
The movie “Rise of the Machines” painted a believable and not all that futuristic look at how sharing computing power could be used for evil. I’d like to add that this same power can be used for great good. Imagine if we could scan hospital records on a global basis, looking for similarities, or if we could search images to speed the search for missing persons. The algorithms behind ChatGPT and other offerings illustrate the power of current AI research in managing huge volumes of abstract data, but it’s not thinking. It’s information mining. Thinking and deciding how best to use this knowledge is still the realm of we humans. I believe is like to remain so forever.
Closer to home, just think what this same access to computing power can do for your business. Are you getting the true value of your sales data? Are you optimising your inventory in order to better serve your customers? We can help you to do these things, and not live in fear of the machines.
P.S. The attached image is used with the acknowledgement or Warner Bros Studios marketing organisation.
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