I’m writing this in April 2023. ChatGPT has taken the world by storm since November 2022. People are fascinated by the capabilities of artificial intelligence. So many people around the globe are just playing around with the technology. Everyone has ideas but no one knows for sure exactly where this is going to go.
Just the beginning
This is still very very early days of AI in mainstream. It reminds me of what I felt In the early 1990s when I first discovered the 9600 baud modem to get to this thing called the internet on a big bulky computer with 40 MB of storage space which I thought I would never fill up in my lifetime since that was So much space ☺️
If I remember correctly, I was going to a site called Lycos or maybe Yahoo was already born by that time. Regardless, it was just a bunch of links you go to that were pages on the internet. Basically a guide to various pieces of information that existed on the world wide web which was in its infancy. It was fascinating to be able to do that on the computer, to be connected to other people and other pieces of information all throughout the world.
I believe that’s the stage we are in currently with AI. It is very very early days when a bunch of us are playing around with generative AI by going to either chat.openai.com or various sites which have started adopting AI to do cool things like create images or even video by just prompting it in detail.
Mainstreaming of AI
This novelty will eventually subside within a decade and AI will just become a part of our life. Just like internet has become a part of our life.
We will conjure up our needs with gestures, voice or good old fashioned text. AI will just be there incorporated into every aspect of our life just like internet has become.
Like a virtual assistant, but a Very smart one who is always available, always looking to please, does not get sick, always becoming more intelligent and is much cheaper than a human assistant.
AI scenarios
Looking to just converse with another person because you’re lonely? AI will be there in whichever tonality you want: teenager, Einstein level savant or anywhere in between.
Want to order groceries? Converse with AI to talk about different ideas of what you want to cook this weekend and it will help you plan everything out and order for you and the order will arrive at your house within hours.
Need a ticket to go to Cancun? Start talking to your AI about different ideas and various places that would suit your needs in Cancun and it will show you the options right in front of you either through specialty glasses or holographic images that appear right in front of you. You gesture/swipe through the different ideas, digging deeper into a specific all-inclusive resort by using the same type of gestures we are used to on a smartphone to zoom in. You see what’s available there, even walk through it virtually in a completely immersive environment with sights and sounds (maybe eventually smells as well…). Once you’re satisfied with an all-inclusive resort that you like, you tell the AI the dates and times you want to go and it will take care of all the booking for you since it already has all the info for you, your family, and your credit card. A bit scary actually, but that’s exactly what human virtual assistants do around the world these days already.
Need a coach to motivate you? AI is always there. A holographic person appears right next to you like a coach standing next to you telling you to not give up and keep going. You are great. You matter. And all the other things that coaches currently say to validate your efforts and existence. Difference here will be that the AI will always be available to you, always learning more about You specifically and wouldn’t cost as much as a human coach.
Or how about a fitness coach? A holographic AI appearing in front of you taking your own form and showing you a more fit version of yourself with bulging muscles for guys and perfect curves for gals. You telling You – this is what you can look like so just follow and do what I say and I’ll get you there. I’ll be there with you throughout the day helping you make the right decisions towards your goal.
Need a new outfit? Your personal holographic AI will appear right in front of you showing you what you could look like in various outfits that you pick from other people’s existing designs or just design the whole thing yourself. You are showing yourself what it’s going to look like on you. In fact, you will be able to conjure up the designer herself in a holographic form in your own living room and she can help you decide the outfit on your hologram. All happening right in your own living room while you sip on chamomile tea and relax. Once you are satisfied with the design, it gets 3D printed and shipped to you within hours Or if you have a 3D printer yourself then it gets printed in your own house. Completely customized to your needs. It won’t be the Amazon of the world making money, but designers selling their designs either through a big retail merchant who has a broad reach or selling directly.
Artificial intelligence will be available in every aspect of your life and you will interact with it as seamlessly as you do today in 2023 with smartphones – having it do almost everything you need done.
Artificial intelligence vs human intelligence
The big difference from what we are used to is that AI will always be learning and getting better unlike our ‘smartphones’ which are a bit dumb in nature and are only as smart as the app designers and phone manufacturers who make them.
Thinking through all this is super exciting and uncomfortable at the same time. The revolutions we have had so far such as industrial, demographic, scientific, technology, etc… all of them have been something we as humans have controlled.
The artificial intelligence revolution is going to be the first one where it’s going to compete with our own human intelligence. Controlling this revolution so it serves us humans and doesn’t eventually replace us is going to be the real test for us. Good luck to us humans. May we make the right choices.