How AI is Transforming My View of the Future

How AI is Transforming My View of the Future đź’»

June 05, 2024

AI is Transforming My View of the Future

My AI Past

For those that have known me for over two decades, you probably recall that I studied and conducted research in artificial intelligence as an undergraduate and graduate student.  When the world of large language models (LLMs) entered our collective vernacular in 2022, it was not quite the leap in artificial intelligence for me as it may have been for others.  I worked in natural language processing and even successfully fundraised for and managed a team to deliver the Philip K Dick Robot for Wired Magazine’s NextFest in under 6 months; the conversational robot went on to be named Robot of the Year by the American Association of Artificial Intelligence in 2005 (wanna hear a WILD story about that robot - there’s a book!)

As a result of these experiences, having a conversation with a machine is not anything too surprising since we had systems successfully teaching physics and computer literacy using only natural language and animated agents at the University of Memphis in 2004.  

I’m not trying to say that the systems widely available to the entire public in 2024 aren’t impressive, but if you draw a line from the state of the art in 2004 to 2024 it is not as earth shattering as you’d think.

My AI Present

BUT . . . I had an awakening to the new ear of AI.  

Over the past 90 days I’ve been looking deeper into the AI arms race underway and thinking about applications beyond language.  

1) Arms Race

There is an arms race under way including Sam Altman’s desire to raise $7T for AI computing (probably not going to happen anytime soon) to the realistic plans for a $3.3B AI computing center to be finished in 2026 by Microsoft.  OpenAI is also working with Microsoft to consider a $100B investment dependent on chip availability.  At Amazon there are plans to invest $150B over the next decade in AI cloud computing.  Meta and Google are also in the arms race.  

What was announced in Memphis today, that the “Gigafactory for Compute” for xAI is being built here, is a big part of that arms race. It serves as a wake up call that AI is definitely going to be changing lives and way sooner than we think.  

The Gigafactory of Compute in Memphis is on track to be largest supercomputer in the world within a year.  

This development really woke me up to the reality of what’s going on.  And got me excited for the future based on my next point.

2) Beyond Language and Beyond Earth

TechCrunch said it best and so I’ll just quote it here: “xAI’s marketing literature already makes clear that the outfit’s ambition is to connect the digital and physical worlds, but it may not be widely understood that Musk plans to do this by pulling in training data from each of his companies, which include Tesla, SpaceX, his tunneling outfit Boring Company and Neuralink, which develops computer interfaces that can be implanted in human brains.”

I think it is cool to have a supercomputer in Memphis and one that will be the largest at least for a bit.   I’m even more excited about the physical and real world transformation this data center will bring.  I believe the most interesting opportunities for artificial intelligence that will really change our lives in a “holy cow” kind of way will be those that we will see in our daily lives from humanoid robots, truly self-driving cars, automated space exploration, man-machine linkages, and much more.  

In AI right now, a lot sits behind a computer or TV screen, whether it is a computer-generated movie or a computer testing molecules for therapeutic targets to cure cancer.  It is cool.  What’s cooler is what will be true on Earth when a humanoid robot is working along side a human after being driven across the surface of Mars by a self-driving vehicle.  All those realities on Mars will also be true on Earth — that will be a big leap in our daily lives here.  

Changing how the physical world operates is the real world interface that will truly be transformative. Connecting the digital and physical worlds is really possible and within grasp.  

The Immediate AI Future and Your Transformation

Based on this perspective, what can we expect for our immediate futures?

There is some good news and bad news in the immediate future.

Good news: You are probably not going to get replaced by AI.

Bad news: You’re going to be replaced by someone who knows AI and already does your job.  

What’s happening?  

The truth about the workforce and industry transformation from AI tells us that humans and AI work best together (which means we still need you). Any industry transformation comes with growth of new roles and responsibilities that open up new opportunities.  Humans have been highly adaptive throughout all major disruptions to work and how we live (think about horses to cars, sails to steam, etc.).

So as you reflect on all this information be sure to think about the following questions:

  • How is AI going to impact you in the coming weeks, months, and years?  

  • How will it transform your life? Are you spending time learning about AI?

  • How can you take advantage of the transformations?

  • Are you putting yourself in the right position to win?

If you find this helpful, please forward along to a friend.  And please send me your thoughts on AI transformation.

Cheers,

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