AI Appreciation Day: Technology now Competes with Human Intelligence

Details about the origin of AI Appreciation Day are sketchy. But it appears that July 16 is now being widely marked as the day to praise Artificial Intelligence. 

For the longest time, AI and its capabilities were mostly seen in science fiction movies – whether it is personal butler Jarvis for Ironman or world-dominating sentinels in the Matrix trilogy. So, one would then believe that whenever AI comes into existence, it could understand us much better, and even supersede human intelligence at some point. 

Some of that is now becoming true. AIs of modern times are far more efficient in understanding context and even perform tasks on your behalf. Exceeding human intelligence is something that time shall tell. 

A lot of credit for democratised access to AI goes to OpenAI. ChatGPT, now increasingly becoming synonymous with generative AI, opened the floodgates to a new kind of digital experience where one could ask the AI multiple questions, and that AI could respond after understanding the context. This paved the way for a new set of startups to roll out their own. 

Today, Google (Gemini) and Perplexity and many more options are available for people. And then, enterprises are fast adopting AI as well. As of now, nearly all sectors are now heading towards an AI-led future.

No cap 

What AI cannot do? Human-level intelligence? Possible. 

“… there is no upper limit on how intelligent AIs will get or on how good robots will get, and I believe the advances will not plateau before exceeding human levels,” wrote Bill Gates in a post earlier this year.

“The two big challenges in the next decade are use of AI by bad actors and disruption to the job market. Both are real risks that we need to do a better job managing. We’ll need to be deliberate about how this technology is developed, governed, and deployed,” he cautioned. 

“The second challenge is job market disruption. AI capabilities will allow us to make far more goods and services with less labor. In a mathematical sense, we should be able to allocate these new capabilities in ways that benefit everyone. As AI delivers on its potential, we could reduce the work week or even decide there are some areas we don’t want to use AI in,” he further wrote. 

Knows you well

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg is also cognizant of the AI-driven era, and hopes for a wholesome transition very soon. 

“Today, our apps feel like algorithms that recommend content,” Zuckerberg said. “Soon, you’ll open our apps, and you’ll have an AI that understands you and also happens to be able to show you great content or even generate great personalized content for you.”

“Our vision is building personal superintelligence. We’re starting to see the promise of AI that understands our personal context – including our history, our interests, our content, and our relationships. A lot of what makes agents valuable is the unique context that they can see, and we believe that Meta will be able to provide a uniquely personal experience. We’re also working on merging LLMs with the recommendation systems that power Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and our ads system,” he said on integrating AI on its Meta suite of apps.

“Our world class recommendation systems are already driving meaningful growth across our apps and ads business, but we think that the current systems are primitive compared to what will be possible soon. Today our systems help people stay in touch with friends, understand the world, and find interesting and entertaining content. But soon, we’ll be able to understand people’s unique personal goals, and tailor feeds to show each person content that helps them improve their lives in the ways they want.”

Dream bigger

Google’s Sundar Pichai believes the prowess of AI has made him dream bigger. 

At the India AI Summit, he said: Seeing a Waymo ride through my 83-year-old dad’s eyes, I saw the progress in a whole new light. Of course he said he’d be more impressed if it worked on India’s busy roads — still working on that one, Dad. This progress shows what’s possible when humanity dreams big.”

“And no technology has me dreaming bigger than AI. It is the biggest platform shift of our lifetimes. We are on the cusp of hyperprogress and new discoveries that can help emerging economies leapfrog legacy gaps. But that outcome is neither guaranteed nor automatic. To build AI that is truly helpful for everyone, we must pursue it boldly, approach it responsibly and work through this defining moment together,” he added.

Expanding human capability

OpenAI’s Sam Altman believes that AI will be the most powerful tool for expanding human capability and potential that anyone has ever seen. Demand for this tool will be essentially uncapped, and people will do incredible things with it. The world deserves huge amounts of AI and we must figure out how to make it happen.

He also acknowledged the fear and anxiety about AI. 

“AI has to be democratized; power cannot be too concentrated. Control of the future belongs to all people and their institutions. AI needs to empower people individually, and we need to make decisions about our future and the new rules collectively. I do not think it is right that a few AI labs would make the most consequential decisions about the shape of our future,” Altman added. 

“Aaptability is critical. We are all learning about something new very quickly; some of our beliefs will be right and some will be wrong, and sometimes we will need to change our mind quickly as the technology develops and society evolves. No one understands the impacts of superintelligence yet, but they will be immense.”