Revolutionary AI: How ChatGPT Transformed the World in 2020
AI researcher Sasha Luccioni used to encounter basic questions about artificial intelligence when attending business conferences and speaking events last year. However, she now finds that the individuals she meets not only have knowledge about AI but also express concerns about its potential to “dominate the world.”
He said ChatGPT changed. On November 30 of last year, the public got access to OpenAI’s chatbot, which could generate extensive—though not always reliable—written responses to users’ simple prompts. It fundamentally changed the way people thought about AI, if they ever thought about it at all. For years, tech companies used artificial intelligence to make recommendations, detect harmful content online, and power self-driving cars. However, with ChatGPT, AI wasn’t just something that worked under the hood of the products; it was a product.
Almost overnight, people started using ChatGPT to write song lyrics, email drafts, document summaries, and wedding speeches. Some even turned it into personal therapy. While earlier chatbots were often frowned upon, ChatGPT, with its simple interface and quick colorful response, was a source of genuine respect and amusement. A year later, ChatGPT is used by 100 million people per week, according to OpenAI.
“ChatGPT was the point where artificial intelligence entered the public consciousness,” said Luccioni, who works at AI startup HuggingFace. But with it also came a new era of AI anxiety.
There have been numerous reports that ChatGPT, which relies on large amounts of online data to generate relevant responses, could spread misinformation, perpetuate prejudice, threaten jobs and help students cheat on assignments. Schools have banned and removed the service. Regulators held hearings and summits on artificial intelligence. The Writers and Actors went on strike in part out of concern that artificial intelligence would devalue their work. And many industry leaders signed a brief statement on “The Danger of Extinction from Artificial Intelligence.” The tension between the promise and danger of artificial intelligence became fully visible just before ChatGPT’s anniversary. OpenAI fired its founder and CEO Sam Altman in part because of disagreements with the board over the pace of AI development and commercialization, people familiar with the matter previously told Bloomberg. OpenAI and Altman struck a deal to reinstate him as CEO a day later following an employee revolt.
With all the “smart talk about artificial intelligence, you’re creating anxiety,” said Fei-Fei Li, an AI pioneer and co-director of Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. For some, AI tools like ChatGPT suddenly foretold a future where AI would overtake humans and potentially wreak havoc. For others, ChatGPT and its peers are simply more powerful versions of autocomplete, building on previous AI advances. “This has been a turning point in artificial intelligence,” Li said, “but not the only one.”
No concern prevented the development of artificial intelligence and investment in it. In the year since ChatGPT was released, OpenAI has introduced more powerful AI models, the ability to create customized ChatGPT experiences, and a feature that allows the chatbot to respond to spoken questions and commands with its own speech. Meanwhile, a growing list of startups and big tech companies are racing to keep up.
Investors poured more than $21 billion into generative AI startups in the first nine months of this year, up from just over $5 billion last year, according to data from PitchBook. Much of this has come from tech giants like Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which are pouring billions into artificial intelligence startups to strengthen their position in the fast-growing market. These deals changed the balance of power in technology, and Microsoft jumped ahead of its competitors in the AI race thanks to its partnership with OpenAI.
The AI frenzy extended far beyond the technology industry. JPMorgan is testing artificial intelligence applications that can generate earnings summaries for each company the bank tracks, as well as a helpdesk service that provides problem-solving steps. Healthcare professionals are using artificial intelligence to automatically turn patient conversations into notes. Media companies relied on AI to write articles, making glaring mistakes in the process. Politicians use AI to write speeches, campaign and fundraise. According to a November report by job site Indeed, since ChatGPT’s debut, there have been 20 times more jobs with AI in the title or job description. And these roles are not just isolated to the technology industry. “The number of AI job postings has exploded,” said Nick Bunker, director of economic research for North America at Indeed. However, the number of AI roles is small overall, accounting for six of the 10,000 job site listings. While ChatGPT gained momentum around generative AI, the market is much bigger than ChatGPT. Today, businesses and everyday users can turn to a growing list of AI chatbots, including Bard, Claude, Pi, Grok, and most recently Q, from Amazon. Generative AI is here to stay — and it’s only getting more advanced.
“We should be leading the way in the responsible use of this technology,” Li said. “It has greatly increased the conversations and debates, but we need to approach it more thoughtfully by providing education and context.”
