What was once a foreign concept depicted in works of science fiction, artificial intelligence (AI) has now emerged as the latest groundbreaking technology that everyone is talking about. This comes from the fact that AI has demonstrated the ability to make complicated problems into easy to understand solutions. From scheduling an upcoming appointment to developing code for a website, Artificial intelligence has become a practical and a useful tool for anyone. While this new technology does raise concerns around ethics and security, it does also offer opportunities for improvements and further innovations in the fields of productivity, education, and much more.
One of the first iterations of AI goes back to the 1950s with Alan Turing. He is considered the “father of artificial intelligence” due to his expansive work in the field. One example would be one of the tests he created called “The Turing Test.” This test is a method to check if a machine can think like a human. If a person interacts with both a machine and a human but cannot tell which is which, the machine is said to have passed the test and shown intelligence. This is important because it provided a method for measuring a machine's intelligence and assessing whether or not it could effectively replicate human communication coherently. It was thanks to this and many other findings from Turing and others that helped build the foundation for modern computing and artificial intelligence.
Fast forward to today, we can see that AI has already been implemented into our daily lives in the form of digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri, and/or web services such as Chat GPT by OpenAI. Digital assistants excel at managing daily tasks such as managing personal schedules, controlling smart devices, and answering a variety of questions. This technology can be voice activated, with the device replying to the user. Chat GPT on the other hand, is more of a conversational text-based service where users can make requests that then generates large amounts of text. This can range from generating content, asking questions, or even developing computer code. Furthermore, users can discover a broad spectrum of use cases for ChatGPT which include information retrieval, writing assistance, educational support, brainstorming ideas, and much more. It is important to note that while these services are fascinating, we as users must understand that this is still new and there are still limitations when it comes to AI’s response accuracy. Anyone that uses services that utilize AI should use their own discretion and cross-reference the information with trusted sources.
In addition to digital assistants and text generators, there has been a big advancement in AI image generation services. This comes in the form of websites that utilize AI in order to create art, photos, and other types of visuals. Websites like DALL-E and MidJourney allows users to input a description of the image they want, and the AI generates an image that matches the provided details. The details the user includes such as concept and style would only further improve the accuracy of the generated image. However, like other AI services, this also comes with ethical concerns as well. One of those ethical concerns with generative images deals with the growing issue that are deepfakes. These could be a photo or a video of an individual that has been altered digitally so that they can appear to be someone else, typically used in an unpleasant manner or to spread false information. This has been an ongoing issue in recent years causing confusion amongst the public. While this misuse raises concerns, AI-generated visuals also offer exciting creative possibilities. These tools allow artists and designers to experiment with new techniques, pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation.
As we can see, artificial intelligence has many options when it comes to creativity and productivity. It also has proven to be very useful. As this technology continues to evolve day by day, we as users must proceed with caution whenever using any type of AI services. As it currently stands, its understanding of the human language is not at a 100% accuracy. There are times where it can misunderstand the context of human input. Other times it could provide biased, inaccurate information on a subject. However, with all of these faults, it also important to know that the potential for this tool/service is still exciting. It is beneficial for individuals to understand how AI functions and spend time learning how each of these services/tools work. This way, individuals will be better prepared for whatever advancements may come in the future.
Image: Designed by FreePik