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   @normanoro206

   May 20, 2024 at 8:37 pm

   This is a fascinating interview with Arthur Lewis. I think he’s right about this being one of the most interesting times in human history from a technology standpoint; and it has just begun in terms of what AI can do (I recently saw a short clip of what Chat-GPT 4o can do and it really does seem to be a significant advance over Chat-GPT 4, which blew people away as it was). It’s refreshing to learn about how a company like Dell (which essentially is a nexus between the chips that companies like Nvidia make and the AI services that companies like AWS, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI provide) views AI and, more specifically, where it’s all headed. Of course, no one can say with certainty where things are going; and if the current pace of innovation holds (or, just as likely, even accelerates), I think all bets are off in terms of the role AI-infused technologies will play in our lives. As exciting as these advances are, however, I think another key factor will be (to put it frankly) fear, at least some of which is justified. How will people’s creative works ultimately be viewed with respect to training AI (in fact, one Chat-GPT 4o demo was apparently pulled because it was too reminiscent of Scarlett Johansson’s character in the film “Her”)? Along with the potential for this technology to rapidly increase employee productivity by complementing their existing skills, there’s also of course the risk of people losing their jobs. Will this be purely market-driven in terms of the adoption of these technologies by companies or will the government step in at some point if worker displacements threaten to be too far-reaching? What standard of reliability should be set for AIs involved in high-stakes fields such as medicine, warfare and policing? In such cases, should a human always be there to veto an AI? As AI agents and assistants become more sophisticated and widespread, how will people’s privacy be safeguarded? These are only some of the more salient questions related to artificial intelligence. Although I consider myself an AI optimist, I think it’s a mistake to assume that these concerns will simply disappear; and polls tend to bear out just how worried people are. For now, it appears as though we’re drifting towards a let-companies-innovate-and-governments-regulate equilibrium as companies seem to increasingly redeploy resources away from teams that were once focused on ensuring the safe and responsible development of this technology. Whether this is optimal from a societal standpoint is anyone’s guess, but personally even I (an avowed AI optimist) find it concerning. Although I believe innovation (as it often has in the past) will find solutions to many of these concerns eventually, AI (as many people note) is arguably unlike any technology before it. Fortunately, because of the technology’s “wow” factor, it’s not wanting of attention; and there is no shortage of smart people thoughtfully studying how the technology evolves.

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