Generative AI is an utterly transformative technology that is already impacting how organizations and individuals work. But what does the future have in store for this incredible technology? Read on for my top predictions.
Multi-Modal Generative AIs
We now have generative AI tools that can see, hear, speak, read, write, or create. Increasingly, generative AIs will be able to do many of these things at once – such as being able to create text and images together. As an example, the third iteration of the text-to-image tool Dall-E is reportedly able to generate high-quality text embedded in its images, putting it ahead of rival image-generator tools. Then there was the 2023 announcement that ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak, as well as write.
So, one of my predictions is that generative AIs will continue this move towards multi-modal AIs that can create in multiple ways – and in real-time, just like the human brain.
“Interactive AI”
According to DeepMind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman, the next step beyond generative AI is “interactive AI” – by which he means bots that don’t just chat but can carry out all sorts of tasks by delegating to other software (and even people) to get stuff done for you.
Take software development as an example. Generative AI can already write and test computer code, meaning you could use it to build, say, a new recipe app designed around healthy eating. As AI becomes more interactive, you could, in theory, task an AI with the entire app-creation project – from writing and testing the code to hiring nutritionists, food photographers and recipe developers (some of whom may be bots), to liaising with beta testers, releasing the app, and organizing the marketing campaign. In a simpler example, you could ask a bot like ChatGPT to book a night away for you and your partner – including finding and booking the hotel, choosing a restaurant for you, booking a table (and informing the restaurant of your partner’s egg allergy), and booking a walking tour of the city. You could delegate the entire task to a bot.
Generative AI-Equipped Robots
In the not-too-distant future, I believe we’ll see robots being routinely equipped with generative AI capabilities – thereby vastly increasing the range of tasks that both robots and AIs can take on for us.
So far, generative AI enables us to automate and augment cognitive and creative tasks, including some of the tasks done by doctors, designers, musicians, marketers, and more. Physical jobs such as building, assembly line work, cleaning, and so on are (by and large) unaffected by the wave of generative AI transformation. But combine generative AI with robots, and that may change. We could see AIs working in all sorts of sectors. On factory floors, for example, or construction sites, retail stores and hotels.
Generative AI For A Better World
I firmly believe that, as one of the most transformative technologies we’ve ever seen, generative AI may become a force for enormous good in this world. Yes, a tool like ChatGPT can be used to draft a funny speech for your friend’s wedding or come up with an idea for tonight’s supper. But it can also be used to address issues like climate change, massive inequality, hunger, access to healthcare, and more. It can help us find new treatments for diseases. It can democratize access to mental health support. It can predict how infectious diseases will progress. It can address food security through crop yield optimization. When you think about it, it’s rather like giving humans superpowers.
Generative AI Regulation And Oversight
Of course, we can’t deny that generative AI can also be used to spread misinformation, create new biological weapons, or even build autonomous weapons that can identify and neutralize threats without any human oversight. This is why we will need regulation to protect us and ensure generative AI is used for positive transformation – and not to create more polarization, meddle in elections, deliberately spread false information, and the like. We will need transparency around how these systems are used. We will need ethical guidelines and frameworks in place. As such, generative AI will become a top priority for regulators.
To some extent, oversight is beginning to happen. Meta, for example, has announced that political ads running on Facebook and Instagram will be required to disclose if they contain AI-generated content and images. Other tech companies are following suit, which is good, but we also need formal regulations in place rather than just relying on tech companies to do the ethical thing.
AI Delegation And Making Work Better
Making the world a better place is one thing. But perhaps a humbler prediction is that generative AI will make work better. Yes, some jobs will be lost to AI automation. But more jobs will be augmented – enhanced – by generative AI. Because generative AI allows us to hand over the more mundane and repetitive tasks to machines, human workers will have more time for value-adding tasks like problem-solving, creativity, and relationship-building. But finding that balance between human expertise and machine intelligence will be crucial. As such, I expect AI delegation – or the art of working out which tasks are best left to machines and which should be done by humans – to become a vital future skill.