The revolution is at hand

Those of you who know me know that while I may be wrong, I’m rarely uncertain. The certainty I want to share today is the impact of the modern AI revolution. Whether you have used tools like DALL-E or ChatGPT since their inception, or are fairly new to the game, know this: The current AI revolution will have as big an impact on our lives as did the advent of the personal computer in the late 1970’s.

Let me explain.

In the late ’70s, we saw the emergence of machines like the Radio Shack TRS-80, the Commodore PET, and the Apple II. These machines, as weak as they were by today’s standards, started a revolution as early adopters gobbled them up. And the public response was interesting. For those who saw these devices as a terrific thing to have, others were convinced that they were going to ruin education and other fields, although these machines were not yet suitable for the office place. Corporations continued to buy typewriters, and the ubiquity of word processors was a dream held by only a few brave souls. These early machines were quickly followed by a flurry of others, all of which are no longer available: Atari, Compaq, Northstar, Cromemco, and other names that have largely faded from memory were, at one time, the talk of the town.

In the world of AI, this period was reflected in 2023. 

At the start of the year, the only tools well-known were made by OpenAI: ChatGPT and the graphics tool DALL-E.

By the end of the year, we saw new powerful products being released almost every day. I was co-authoring a book on the topic then, and editing like crazy every time another seemingly powerful product was announced. Computer desktops and smartphones among the early adopters became clogged with amazing tools, and social networks exploded with various interest groups being formed around specific tools.

That was 2023. Now we are at the onset of 2024, and the question is what will come next.

Well, as with computers in the late 70’s, we’ll continue to see developments from the early companies and the introduction of AI into older mainstream companies, just as when IBM entered the PC business fairly late in the game only to become a dominant player.

We will see the old tools get better, and reap the benefits of AI’s infusion into existing tools like Siri and Alexa, as well as permeating everything from tools by Adobe and just about everyone else in the business of making tools of creative expression. Meta, the company behind Facebook, has already joined the fray with an amazing graphics tool called Imagine. Unlike most previous graphics tools, if you give it a generic prompt: Pretty Woman, for example, it will generate a series of images of women of different races and cultures. Most other tools generate only pictures of caucasian women, often all looking like they could be sisters. This bias is a cautionary note for those of you using these tools.

2024 will see these and other biases addressed as the old tools are improved, and new ones emerge.

If 2023 was the year of awareness, I think 2024 may be the year of adoption. As I said at the start, I may be wrong, but I’m rarely uncertain.