The reach of generative artificial intelligence (AI) skyrocketed this year as tech companies raced to outdo each other while regulators and lawmakers added guardrails.
As AI has become more common and accessible — especially OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT chatbot — it has shaped society, creating new opportunities and threats for fields ranging from education to Hollywood.
Here are five ways AI is rapidly changing our world.
Chat GPT started a tech race between companies.
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT publicly in November 2022, it exploded onto the scene. According to data from SmellerWeb, the chatbot reached 15.5 million visits in its first week and peaked at 1.8 billion visits in May.
The success of ChatGPT also started a race among tech companies.
Just a day before Microsoft said it would add ChatGPT to Bing Search in February, Google announced the launch of Bard, its AI chatbot. As companies continue to race against one another, Google this month announced the release of Gemini, an AI model that aims to help Bard become more human-like in communication and ultimately Car company search engine optimization.
Google said it will be included in Bard as well as its Pixel 8 Pro smartphone.
Other tech companies have also jumped into the AI race. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced in July that its open-source large language model Llama 2 would be released for commercial use and research.
Tesla, SpaceX and X owner Elon Musk also launched a ChatGPT competitor in November under his xAI company. The AI, called Grok, had a “rebellious streak,” the company said. The company touted Grok’s “real-time access” to information from X, formerly known as Twitter, as a “massive advantage” over other platforms.
Analysts at Wedbush said in a December memo that they expect spending on AI in the tech sector to accelerate through 2024. Analysts said they see AI as “the most transformative technology trend since the Internet’s inception in 1995.”
AI sends Congress reeling.
As companies move forward with AI development, Congress spent much of the second half of the year holding hearings and meeting with experts to understand the risks and benefits of the technology.
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing in May that included testimony from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. He pledged to work with the government and the rest of industry to mitigate risks as the technology advances – warning that AI “could do significant damage to the world.”
Altman returned to the Capitol in September, along with other CEOs of AI companies, civil society leaders and other AI experts, for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (DN. Y.) AI Insight Forums.
The first meeting included Musk, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Following the inaugural session, the Senate held a series of other forums focusing on various areas of AI’s impact, including electoral concerns, intellectual property issues, and national security threats.
Among the bipartisan group of senators leading the effort with Schumer are Sens. Martin Heinrich (DN.M.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Mike Rounds (RS.D.) are included. While they have pushed for bipartisan agreement on a number of issues, lawmakers have yet to advance a regulatory framework to address AI.
Hollywood sets new standard for protecting AI workers.
AI’s advanced capabilities have also raised concerns about how the technology will affect jobs.
AI could affect nearly 80 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to a March paper by researchers at OpenAI, Open Research, and the University of Pennsylvania. 10% of work may be affected. Major language models in their industry.
Hollywood writers and actors led the way in securing protections from AI through union contracts this year.
An agreement reached in October between the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) ended a 148-day strike and established AI protections that could set a precedent for other industries. are
Part of the agreement included giving union members the right to use AI, but prohibiting studios from forcing a writer to use AI.
It also ensured that companies must disclose if any content attributed to an author was generated by AI or included AI-generated content.
SAG-AFTRA released its contract with the studios in November that included AI protections. The actor’s consent is required in the contract to make a digital copy. It also describes how the actor will be compensated for using the copy, including the time spent creating the copy and how the copy is used.
AI raises concerns about electoral disinformation.
The rise of generative AI tools, particularly audio and video technology that can show people saying or doing things that didn’t happen, could fuel the spread of political disinformation in the 2024 election.
A number of campaigns, particularly in the Republican presidential primaries, have used AI in campaign materials.
These concerns have prompted Congress, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and tech companies to consider ways to reduce the spread of misinformation.
Google and Meta have policies in place to require advertisers to disclose their use of AI in political ads.
The FEC is considering defining a rule that would also address the use of AI in campaigns, following a push from consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
AI shakes up education.
The launch of ChatGPT and its immediate popularity caused schools to worry about how students could use the tools to cheat on schoolwork.
Concerns led to an initial wave of bans on the technology. However, many have since changed these restrictions in search of ways to incorporate technology into education.
For example, the New York City school system rescinded its ban on ChatGPT in May. Chancellor David Banks wrote an op-ed published by Chalkbeat explaining the decision and how schools will work to integrate AI into the curriculum.
With this shift, though, came another concern associated with AI in education — whether it would widen the tech divide for rural and poor students.
AI could also transform education as a way to address concerns about teacher shortages, a growing concern since the COVID-19 pandemic.
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