Midda's 2cents : Beyond the Hype: The Realities of AI Progress and its Implications

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Beyond the Hype: The Realities of AI Progress and its Implications

Greetings, everyone! Have you ever pondered the possibility of robots surpassing human intelligence? It's quite a fascinating and mind-boggling idea, but as AI technology continues to progress rapidly, it's becoming more and more feasible. It's interesting to note that the industry has now surpassed academia in creating significant machine-learning models. In 2022, 32 industry-produced models were released, while only three came from academia. Seems like money really does talk, eh?

But don't get too excited about robots taking over just yet. While AI continues to post impressive results, year-over-year improvement on benchmarks is becoming more marginal. I mean, I can relate - it's like going to the gym and hitting a plateau. Still, there's hope with new, more comprehensive benchmarking suites being released.

And here's something that'll really make you think - did you know that AI can have serious environmental impacts? I'm talking carbon emissions on par with air travel. But don't worry, new reinforcement learning models like BCOOLER show that AI can also be used to optimize energy usage. So, it's like a love-hate relationship with Mother Earth, I guess.

On the bright side, AI models are rapidly accelerating scientific progress, achieving impressive results like never before. In 2022, they were used to aid hydrogen fusion, improve the efficiency of matrix manipulation, and generate new antibodies. Who knows, maybe we'll soon be calling AI the world's best new scientist. But let's not forget about the misuse of AI - the number of incidents related to ethical misuse of AI has increased 26 times since 2012. Yikes! And some of these incidents are just straight-up bizarre, like that deepfake video of the Ukrainian President surrendering. Talk about fake news!

But let's not get too bogged down by the negatives. The demand for AI-related professional skills is increasing across virtually every sector in the US. That's right, employers are looking for workers with AI-related skills. And while private investment in AI decreased for the first time in the last decade, the companies that have adopted AI continue to pull ahead. It's like the tortoise and the hare, except the hare has some pretty fancy AI technology on his side.

And last but not least, let's talk about the public perception of AI products and services. According to a survey, Chinese citizens are among those who feel the most positively about AI, while Americans...not so much. I guess we're still holding on to those Terminator movies!

All in all, the rise of AI is fascinating and thought-provoking. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe we'll have robots doing stand-up comedy soon. Hey, if they're anything like me, they'll be a real hit at parties!

So, what do you think about the rise of AI and its impact on society? Do you have any thoughts or ideas to share? Feel free to leave a comment below and join the conversation! And if you're interested in learning more about AI and its potential, there are plenty of resources available online, including courses, tutorials, research papers, and of course my book. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one to develop the next breakthrough AI system!

Credit for this research goes to The AI Index, an independent initiative at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), and the team of experts from across academia and industry who collaborated with organizations including the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, LinkedIn, NetBase Quid, Lightcast, and McKinsey to track progress in artificial intelligence.

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