fAIsten your seatbelts: Insights on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

To embark upon a journey through the history of AI, you must go back to the 1950s to find its roots. Over the decades, remarkable strides have been made, but it’s in the recent years, particularly in 20121 and 2017, that AI witnessed transformative breakthroughs that reshaped the landscape of this dynamic field. 

In 2012, a pivotal moment occurred with a groundbreaking development in image classification using Deep Learning. The technological advancement meant that AI models could process and identify elements in a photo and sort it accordingly. Deep Learning-based models emerged, armed with unprecedented accuracy in classifying images, catapulting AI into a realm of new possibilities.  

Then, in 2017, the stage was set for a revolutionary paradigm shift with the publication of a seminal research paper titled, ‘Attention Is All You Need’, authored by a team of visionary researchers. This landmark paper delved into the intriguing concept of attention, a fundamental building block in the realm of AI, especially when applied to the intricate processes of natural language.  Words take on different meanings based on their context—much like the versatile term “bank”, which could mean a place to deposit money or the sides of a quiet stream; and the researchers’ exploration of attention paved the way for AI systems to comprehend language and context with unprecedented depth, opening doors to current, incredible possibilities.

AI is a trending topic due to recent progress in technology development, largely driven by the abundance of available data. Data access and the democratization of AI tools like ChatGPT (OpenAI) or Bard (Google) created a new horizon for AI. These systems heavily depend on human feedback and testing to ensure accuracy and improvements. Therefore, AI specialists actively seek user input to enhance these tools and understand their strengths and weaknesses.  

The growing popularity of AI has also spurred market competition, motivating organizations to explore innovative applications of AI, promote accessibility and consider the societal impact of their AI models. With capabilities to write copy, automate tasks, generate images and converse with others, AI has the incredible potential to make our lives easier—if used responsibly. 

In the past, AI used to be confined to the realm of academia, exclusively explored by researchers. However, in the present day, major tech giants have taken the forefront by incorporating AI-based strategies into their corporate initiatives. 

When used responsibly, AI can enhance business offerings by automating tasks, reducing manual labor, and providing support in areas like customer service through chatbots and AI assistants. 

Concerns about AI relate to safety and job security. Although AI has remarkable capabilities, it cannot replace individuals in most cases. To use AI safely, it's important to understand how the tool operates, especially regarding data usage and storage. Tools like Bard, for example, rely on internet sources and user-provided data to generate responses, which may pose information security risks if sensitive data is shared. 

To use AI safely, it's important to understand how the tool operates, especially regarding data usage and storage.

Thought leaders have raised concerns about of AI’s ethics and societal impact. While it's crucial to establish guidelines for responsible AI use within companies, it may be premature to impede further development of AI entirely. Evaluating multiple sources and considering the motivations of thought leaders in the field is essential for forming an informed opinion on the topic of AI. 

AI tools can offer solutions to any industry. Some of the most common capabilities of AI include:

• Personalization in AI is used to study individuals to understand their habits, likes and dislikes. This can be a great tool to better understand your customers and cater to their needs. Using this ability can help you create better customer service programs and marketing campaigns. 

• Predictions is a tool to help you make decisions based on current trends and data and an AI tool’s best estimate of how the data will change in the future. This is an essential tool for decision makers, as you can use AI to analyze data and deliver visual aids to help manage information in a way that allows you to assess risk and make decisions quickly.  

• Pattern recognition in AI allows the tool to recognize habits and abnormalities, making it a great tool for proofreading and data organization. This ability has applications in image processing, data analysis, information retrieval and more. 

• Object identification is most often used in image classification tools. This capability can also allow individuals to research topics based on a photo or trigger a service, which is what makes self-driving cars a reality. Vehicle sensors capture images of obstacles on the road and recognize the action they should take to address them. 

• Natural language processing is the capability that powers AI assistants, as it allows these tools to converse similar to humans. This also offers options for customer service models, such as chatbots and phone operators. 

Through user feedback and continued innovation, we’re likely to witness significant more AI progress in the ensuing years. With new AI models constantly evolving, the limit of its capabilities are our imaginations.

GFT is ready to work with you to make your ideas a reality. Contact us to learn more about what AI can do for your business.