avatarEthan Ginsberg

Summary

The website content discusses the transformative potential of AI and machine learning, comparing the current era to the early days of the internet in the 1990s and anticipating significant changes in the next decade.

Abstract

The article draws a parallel between the advent of the internet in the mid-1990s and the recent release of ChatGPT in early 2023, suggesting that society is on the brink of another major technological shift. It reflects on the limited capabilities of early home computing and the internet, contrasting it with the current state of AI, which, while powerful, is underutilized by the majority who fail to grasp its full potential. The author emphasizes that just as the internet revolutionized life with innovations like Google, Wikipedia, and the iPhone within a decade, AI is poised to bring about equally profound, yet unforeseen, changes. The article concludes by inviting readers to embrace the uncertainty and excitement of this transformative period, hinting at the vast opportunities that lie ahead.

Opinions

  • The author believes that AI and machine learning will drastically alter our lives in ways that are currently difficult to imagine.
  • There is a sentiment that most people do not understand AI and are not leveraging its capabilities to their full extent, often using it for trivial tasks.
  • The article expresses that the current use of AI does not reflect its true power and potential, implying that creative and innovative applications of AI are yet to be discovered.
  • The author draws a direct comparison between the early days of the internet and the current state of AI, suggesting a similar trajectory of rapid development and societal impact.
  • A sense of wonder and anticipation is conveyed about the future developments in AI over the next several years, with the author speculating that the next decade will be transformative.
  • The article encourages a forward-thinking mindset, urging readers to contribute to and shape the narrative of AI's evolution.

We’re on the Cusp of the Most Transformational Time in Human History

How AI and machine learning are going to change our lives in ways we can never imagine

Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

Remember 1995 when we were all logging onto those big, loud desktop machines with gigantic monitors that took up half your desk?

Maybe you were just logging in to write a paper or play a game.

It wasn’t even until closer to 1998 that you even knew about your computer’s ability to connect with other computers around the world.

Forget watching videos, connecting with others, or streaming your favorite TV series. The technology didn’t even exist yet.

2023 is like 1995 all over again… but bigger

ChatGPT came out in early 2023, that was THIS YEAR.

This is like dial-up internet hitting our homes in the late '90s, for those of us lucky enough to have it.

In 1998 we never imagined we would be able to watch an NFL game on our computers.

Smartphones? Ha! Imagine trying to convince someone in 2002 that in less than 15 years they would be watching live sports in 4K on their cell phones!

HD wasn’t even a thing yet, let alone 4K.

We have no idea what’s going to come of AI

We are currently in a time where a fraction of the population uses AI, most people can’t even explain what it is.

This is exactly where we were at in the '90s when the concept of the internet became widely known and publicized.

Most people who do use AI are using it for silly things like writing articles (be it terrible articles), generating ideas (that humans can come up with on their own), and cheating on their homework (and doing a pretty poor job of it)

This isn’t to say that AI isn’t powerful in its current state. AI is incredibly powerful, it’s amazing!

We humans are the problem, none of us have begun to scratch the surface of AI’s capabilities because we’re not thinking outside the box.

I can’t begin to imagine where AI will take us in the next 5, 10, 15 years. All I know is if the past is any indication of how little we know about the future, we’re in for a wild ride over the next decade.

1998 — Google was Founded

1999 — Napster launched

2000 — Dot com bubble — many people seriously thought this was the “end of the internet”

2001 — Wikipedia launched

2004 — Facebook launched

2005 — YouTube launched

2007 — Introduction of the iPhone

2008 — Bitcoin created

All of that in 10 years…

2023 — ChatGPT launched

2024 — ?

2025 — ?

2033 — ?

It’s our story to write from here…

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