How ChatGPT is likely to chart the future of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI), the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behaviour, is rapidly evolving and expanding. The rise of AI is highly likely to influence the social, economic and political spheres of human life. 

Recently, the AI tool ChatGPT, an online chatbot, was trending, sparking a conversation domestically and internationally on the pros and cons of this rapidly developing technology.

At the same time, Google announced the launch of the AI tool Bard, which has been touted to compete with ChatGPT. 

For instance, some teachers and professors raised eyebrows on the ChatGPT tool, claiming that it was driving cheating and plagiarism in examinations by students. That could explain the claim that students are going to school but not learning. More than ever before, it’s time to pay attention to AI. 

The events and milestones in AI include the birth of the AI concept in the 1950s; the boom and bust of AI in the 1970s to ’80s; the resurgence of AI in the ’90s; and the current state of AI and its potential. Machine learning, natural language processing and deep learning are some of the AI technologies. 

The paper “The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda”, by Phillipe Aghion, Benjamin Jones and Charles Jones, argues the implications of AI for economic growth. This is particularly in the production of goods and services, which potentially impacts economic growth and income shares. 

The paper shows AI can increase productivity by automating tasks, reducing costs and improving the decision-making process. Moreover, AI is a key ingredient to greater invention and innovation, which are crucial in driving the digital economy. 

Enormous benefits

AI has enormous benefits for society. For instance, in the health sector, the application of AI such as in telemedicine interventions has reduced healthcare costs, improved patient outcomes and boosted revenues. Furthermore, AI has been critical in healthcare areas such as early detection and diagnosis, treatment and prognosis evaluation. 

Research shows that, in the foreseeable future, AI can only be a very good assistant physician but cannot replace human doctors. But as argued in the Schumpeterian creative destruction theory, AI could lead to job displacement, particularly blue-collar jobs, and income inequality as it discourages human investment. 

There is an urgent need for policies that promote greater transparency and accountability and ensure AI is used ethically and responsibly for the greater good. Academia should focus their research on understanding the effects of AI on inequality and the distribution of income, the impact of AI on the labour market and the role of government in shaping the development of AI technology. 

As Shoshana Zuboff says in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, as we tread the inevitable uncertain future of AI, let us preserve the privacy and autonomy of individuals through data protection, which otherwise can be taken advantage of to manipulate consumer behaviour for profit. 

Mr Ombane is an economist. [email protected].