Bill Gates reflects on his experience of seeing two revolutionary technologies, the graphical user interface in 1980 and OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) model, GPT in 2022. To test the model’s ability, he challenged OpenAI to train an AI model to pass an Advanced Placement biology exam. The results shocked him. Not only they were able to build this model in a couple of months, but the model got an outstanding 59 out of 60 questions right. The model also succeeded in six open-ended questions and got the highest possible grade. At that moment he knew he had just seen the most important advance in technology since the graphical user interface.
In his blog, GatesNotes, Bill Gates wrote an article summarizing his thoughts and predictions about the Age of AI. The article is divided into 7 parts:
- Introduction
- Defining artificial intelligence
- Productivity enhancement
- Health
- Education
- Risks and problems with AI
- The next frontiers
A couple of key points from the article:
- Advances in AI will enable the creation of a personal agent.
- Soon the pre-AI period will seem as distant as the days when using a computer meant typing at a C:> prompt rather than tapping on a screen.
- AI will rapidly accelerate medical breakthroughs.
- AI will provide triage and health advice in poor countries, advice on how to deal with health problems, & decide whether they need to seek treatment.
- Personalized AI tutors will tailor content based on your interests, goals & learning styles.
- AI will only enhance (not replace) the teacher-student dynamic in the classroom.
- Education will adapt to the rise of tools like ChatGPT.
- Will AIs develop their own goals that deviate from human goals?
- People can use AI for bad as much as they will for good. Governments need to get involved.
- We’ve already seen examples of AI models making up fake information.
- “Finally, we should keep in mind that we’re only at the beginning of what AI can accomplish. Whatever limitations it has today will be gone before we know it.”
