You may be hearing more and more about Artificial Intelligence these days as it continues to permeate our everyday lives. The technologies of AI are advancing in ways that can make us feel like we’re in a science fiction movie. But the reality is that continuing research through the last few decades has led to ever-increasing technological breakthroughs bringing us to a truly exciting but perhaps sometimes ominous frontier. Essentially, AI is the process of computer systems being able to make decisions or predictions utilizing datasets and perform tasks independently or semi-independently from human programming.
AI Types and Uses
When you think of AI, you might be thinking of video games in which non-player characters interact with players. While there has also been significant AI advancements in the world of gaming, AI tech as widely discussed these days is typically of a different nature. AI includes a number of inter-connected subsets, one of the most significant of which is ‘Machine Learning.’
Machine learning (ML) is essentially improved performance of algorithms from dataset inputs. In the world of business, ML is used greatly in advertising, such as product or content recommendations. Other types of AI include Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Robotics, and Image Recognition. Deep learning is an evolution of ML which uses layered algorithms based on the structure of the human brain, performing better with massive datasets to draw from.
There are so many developing applications utilizing this type of technology, from medical scans to facial recognition. From personal assistants to automated driving systems. AI systems have seen a massive investment from larger companies, with billions of dollars in backing.
AI Writing
A recent and prominent form of AI is Chatbot software. While you’ve likely interacted with a chatbot in customer service, recent advancements have led to increasingly dynamic and more human-like responses, as well as full written pieces such as articles, essays, and stories. It’s even been used for songwriting. Many interact with chatbots in their homes almost every day with virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa.
ChatGPT, LaMDA, and Jasper are among the leading chatbot software. While extended written pieces may require some human editing, these pieces of software can create surprisingly engaging written content.
AI Artwork
Beyond image recognition, a newer frontier of AI is image creation. If you’ve been on social media lately, you’ve probably seen some posts of AI generated artwork, likely utilizing software such as MidJourney or DALL-E. Some of these pieces are truly spellbinding, showing ethereal scenes created by the prompts of users and sourcing from an immense selection of images online. An AI-generated artwork also recently took Colorado State Fair’s fine arts competition. Naturally, many artists online were not too happy. Jason M. Allen, who created the AI artwork using text prompts, as well as his own additions with Photoshop, defended the piece, saying it took about 80 hours to arrive at the final image.
“Rather than hating on the technology or the people behind it, we need to recognize that it’s a powerful tool and use it for good so we can all move forward rather than sulking about it.”
AI Controversies / Regulation
While AI has shown incredible advancement and promise in all it can do for us, its rapid development has not been without controversy. Concerns have naturally arisen on the role of AI in the workplace and the ethics of copyright issues with the data sourced by machine learning tech. Universities are starting to worry about student integrity issues arising from AI use in essay writing and test taking. Recently the AI program ChatGPT passed graduate level legal exams from four prestigious schools.
With imagery, there’s a debate over artists’ consent in having their images sourced. Many consider AI generated artwork to be theft, while others compare it to references that any artist might use to create something entirely new. A few artist portfolio sites such as DeviantArt and ArtStation learned the hard way by jumping into the AI space without much consideration, angering a large portion of their userbases. Some producers have suggested utilizing AI created artwork for film or gaming conceptual works or book covers, specifically highlighting reducing costs associated with paying human illustrators and conceptual designers.
Deepfakes, or the recreation of a person’s face using image resources, can also present problems with impersonation. Coupled with vocal recreation software, this could be exceptionally dangerous if used to impersonate world leaders.
Working with AI for the future
One thing is certain, AI is here to stay. As it continues to develop, we’ll need to work through the challenges it presents, ensuring we harness it as a useful tool while mitigating potential abuse and over-reliance on the tech. But as it was once said in the Deus Ex video game series, “You can’t kill progress.” Those who learn how to effectively utilize AI systems and combine it with human ingenuity will have a powerful tool on their hands.
At Big Red Jelly, we always try to stay at the forefront of developing tools in the world of web design and branding, and AI is certainly poised to make waves in those fields. We’re currently experimenting with chatbots like Jasper and ChatGPT to see how we can better help our clients with effective content generation.
Looking for expert help? Contact a Big Red Jelly specialist today!
