Embrace AI, the potentials are immense

I recently forwarded some reports, art work and video clips that had been made using artificial intelligence to 10 friends. The text was so delicately worded, the art work so detailed and nicely done and the video so carefully edited that none of my friends could even guess that they had all been created by AI, and not a human. It was difficult to say if a human could have done better, instead.

I had my brush with this new technology in a WeChat group hosted by a robot that uses GPT3 technology, the same as ChatGPT.

As the learning of algorithms deepens, many earlier assumptions about AI don't hold any more. For example, it was earlier believed that AI would only be able to do simple, repetitive work. But it can actually complete assignments that require creativity. AI can even imitate a painter's style while drawing an image.

All this makes one worry whether we can still retain our jobs or one day get replaced by AI that can create texts, images, and video clips.

It actually varies. AI and its propelled robots are surely emerging as replacements for many jobs. But the fast development of AI is also creating new jobs, such as that of "AI coordinator", the requirement of which can already be seen listed on domestic job sites. The coordinator needs to clearly express to AI what the query is, thus raising efficiency. He or she needs to have adequate knowledge of computer science so that AI can understand him/her well.

That's just one of the jobs that the fast progressing AI industry will provide. More people will be required to guide AI, repair AI, coordinate among different AIs and more. When automobiles replaced horse-drawn carts, the travel industry flourished instead of withering, giving rise to an industry that's dozens of times bigger than the previous one. Similarly, it's time we embraced the fast-progressing AI technology and did not underestimate its potential.