[The op-ed below was rejected by a major news outlet because I note in the op-ed—about AI—that I used ChatGPT to help me write it. I will note this is the first time this particular outlet rejected my work and I didn’t shop it elsewhere. Instead of being disappointed, I felt kind of excited to be on the front lines of society figuring this whole generative AI thing out! If I hadn’t noted my partnership with ChatGPT, presumably it would have been accepted. Would that still have been ethical? Maybe they would have caught it? I’d estimate that 30% of the text below is from ChatGPT and the rest is from me. I edited the output heavily. Would that breakdown have made a difference or not in the op-ed’s acceptance? I don’t know! If disclosure of such co-authorship is the ethical thing to do, then could op-eds become “human only”? That doesn’t seem like such a great thing. Anyway, on to the piece].
With the help of Open AI’s ChatGPT-4, I compiled the top AI stories from this past year, the first full year ever with new large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT.
The Open AI Leadership Drama: In a whirlwind week, Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI, the company that developed and launched Chat GPT on November 30, 2022, was fired, provisionally hired at Microsoft, then re-hired at Open AI. This was a dramatic story that took the leading company in the AI industry from the highest peaks to the lowest valleys and (maybe) back to the peak. Microsoft’s role as a corporate leader, the role and beliefs of the former Open AI board, and the potential effects of the effective altruism movement were all primary elements.
Human Writer or AI?: Since the launch of ChatGPT there have been concerns about plagiarism, cheating, and using LLMs to “fake” human writing. So in early 2023, to deal with these concerns, Stanford scholars developed DetectGPT, a tool designed to distinguish between human- and AI-generated text. Then on December 13, a study also at Stanford indicated that LLMs have not increased cheating among high schoolers. Sports Illustrated came under fire for publishing AI generated content without disclosure. How to deal with AI generated vs human generated content will continue and likely get more intense. In both good ways and bad LLMs and new AI systems have challenged the fundamental notions of what creativity means.
AI in Healthcare: AI was used to help scientists develop a new antibiotic that could fight difficult bacteria. Studies at Stanford Health Care explored the potential and limitations of using large language models like GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 in healthcare. They found that while initial responses were generally safe, there was a need for refinement due to issues like hallucinated citations. The use of AI in healthcare is one of the most promising use cases for advanced AI and this story will continue to develop.
Politicians Take Notice: Governments around the world, including the UN, began to energetically focus their attention on AI. In the US, Congress held a range of hearings, forums, and the White House released a significant executive order. Europe recently passed a milestone towards approving ambitious AI rules, potentially becoming the world's first comprehensive legal framework for AI. China and the US reached an agreement to share more information about AI developments.
AI and Labor: The relationship between work and AI is the top concern Americans have about AI according to polling done at my organization. 2023 saw a massive strike in the entertainment industry that while not entirely about AI content nonetheless included AI issues. More recently the AFL-CIO and Microsoft announced a partnership focusing on AI and the future workforce, emphasizing AI education for workers and students, direct feedback from labor leaders to inform AI development, and joint policy and skills development.
AI in Office Work Suites: This year Google announced new AI initiatives, such as Duet AI for developers, Gemini Pro for Google Cloud customers, Imagen 2 for image creation and editing, and MedLM for healthcare-focused generative AI models. Microsoft similarly launched Microsoft Co-Pilot for its Office products. These and other integrations could increase productivity for everyday users. Adobe showcased Adobe Express with Firefly, bringing generative AI capabilities to creators, enhancing creative expression and making content creation faster and easier.
AI in Devices: Two noteworthy AI-centric devices were introduced this year and are the start of more AI-centric consumer devices. Meta introduced new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. These glasses can translate, dictate, and provide information on the spot to the wearer in what appear to be regular glasses. Humane AI launched their AI Pin which attaches to clothing, responds to voice commands, and projects an image on your palm or other surface. Both products mark progress toward much more integrated AI into our everyday lives. It remains to be seen if these particular products catch on, but expect to see more devices like these over the coming year.
The AI Pause Open Letter: In a high point for the existential risk movement that seems like ancient history now, prominent developers and business leaders signed and posted an open letter to pause AI development for 6 months. No such pause has occurred. This letter was the center-piece of many panicked articles about the severe risks AI models pose to humanity.
These are only a few of the AI stories this year, with more to come. There will be further refinements, success, failures, and drama as companies, consumers, civil society, and governments all participate in the forming of this technology. And again, thanks to ChatGPT for helping me get this list started!
This article was published at a perfect time. We had a staff meeting at my school last week and Ai was the bulk of the meeting. I liked the honesty and questioning about why Mr. Barkley was not published. The Barkley’s podcast is a must listen. Radical Optimism Gives you a playful and optimistic view of what is happening in our world. Rachel snd Taylor are fun and open about what they disagree and a blessing to listen to because of their genuine love for each other and for their desire in their pursuit of the truth. How refreshing.