Artificial Intelligence is changing our lives in many ways that we can’t even imagine. Although AI has always been part of our lives via various everyday applications, the number of AI-related use cases has increased in the past two years. OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot has fueled more discussions about the future potential for AI.
Bill Gates is a billionaire philanthropist and has invested billions in OpenAI. He took to his blog Tuesday to express his views on the emergence of AI. While sharing his blog via LinkedIn, the 67-year old said that he had seen two technologies in action during his life. It was the graphic user interface in 1980, and it was his meeting at OpenAI in 2016. Gates stated that he was impressed by the team’s progress.
According to the billionaire, he was so impressed by OpenAI’s work in mid-2022 that he challenged them to train an artificial intelligence model that could pass an Advanced Placement Biology (AP) exam. The goal is to make the model answer questions it hasn’t been trained for.
Gates argued that the AP bio exam was more than a scientific fact. He expected the examinees to be able to think critically about biology. Gates believed the task would keep them engaged for at least two to three years. However, they were surprised to achieve the feat in just a few months. When Gates met his team again in September, he was amazed at GPT, an AI model that was able get 59 of the 60 multiple-choice questions of the AP Bio exam.
Productivity Enhancements to Creating Personal Agents
Gates explained that AI is a system designed to solve a problem or provide a service. Artificial general intelligence (AGI), on the other hand, refers to software capable of learning any subject or task.
He believes that AI will increase productivity and replace the need to point and click. AI will also enable computers to understand plain English and respond to it. He sees a digital assistant that can help users do the tasks they want and take over the tasks they don’t.
Gates believes AI will allow for personal agents to be created that can assist with scheduling, communication and e-commerce across all devices. Privacy concerns about insurance companies accessing personal information must be addressed. Employees will be empowered by company-wide agents who can consult and answer questions during meetings. They also have access to finance, support, product schedules, and related text.
Gates believes that AI is particularly useful in areas such as global health and education. This will allow healthcare workers to be more efficient and enable patients to get basic triage and advice about their health issues. AI will accelerate medical breakthroughs, and transform education by adapting content to individual learning styles and interests.
AIs can be used to assist administrators and teachers in many ways, such as assessing student understanding and offering career advice. ChatGPT is already being used by teachers to comment on writing assignments of their students.
Book Recommendations
Gates recommends three books to further his knowledge on the subject: Superintelligence, Life 3.0, and A Thousand Brains, both by Jeff Hawkins. Although he doesn’t agree with all of their statements, he found them to be well-written and thought-provoking.
