How AI Is Changing The World As We Speak

And why you should care

Created by HungryMinded using Midjourney AI

In the past 200 years or so the technology at our disposal has evolved at an unprecedented rate. The industrial revolution enabled mass production of goods. Today we are experiencing yet another revolution. And it is fueled by Artificial Intelligence.

Every time I look into what artificial intelligence is already capable of I am amazed. And I have compiled a list of some mindblowing developments to share with you.

AI is changing the world as you are reading this in more ways than you can imagine.

Let’s get to the list.

1. Googles PaLM-SayCan — Robots that think for themselves (kind of).

We have been living with digital assistants like Alexa or Siri for a while. But the actions they are capable of although highly useful, are not that impressive as these are mostly pre-programmed tasks.

But Google has recently presented something quite different. Not only it is an actual robot instead of a digital assistant that can listen to your commands, but it also actually understands you (in a sense).

It is possible thanks to large language models.

The fact that we can now have Robots that can understand and interpret language doesn’t stop amazing me. Robot servants seemed like an idea possible only in science fiction not so long ago. But now it seems like it’s only a matter of time until we will have those in our homes and offices.

Here’s another video for you from one of my favorite YouTube channels on the topic:

This is just the beginning of robots using large language models to interpret our commands.

Tesla is also currently working on a robot. It’s called Optimus and it will look pretty human-like. I am looking forward to Tesla’s AI day on the 30th of September when we will be able to learn more about these developments.

Speaking of Tesla…

2. Self-driving cars

Although there are many companies working on making self-driving cars. Tesla is the one that is probably closest to the goal. And has the most real-world data to train their algorithms with.

Teslas actually already drive themselves and do it pretty well. Probably a lot better than a whole lot of drivers on the streets. But there is still room for improvement, and before mass adoption of a technology like this we have to make sure of its safety. Here is a demo of Tesla Autopilot doing its magic in a real-world situation:

Imagine how productive we could be with our hands and minds completely free on our daily commute. And how efficient the traffic could become when ride-sharing Robo-taxi networks roll out.

3. Image generation

Recently AI-powered image generation tools have been in the spotlight. These tools can understand language similarly to Google’s Robot. From simple descriptive text inputs, they are able to create spectacular imagery.

Here’s an example:

Created by HungryMinded using Midjourney AI

The most popular of these tools are DALLE-2, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney AI (which I used above).

If you want to try this for yourself, here is a tutorial for you:

How to Get Started With Midjourney AI — Create Astonishing AI Art Now
Beginner-friendly guide to creating art with AI

The potential use cases for a tool like this are bound only by your imagination, but here I have compiled some creative ways people are already using this technology:

Creative Ways People Used Midjourney.AI and You Can Too
Much more than just cool pictures

And it’s crazy how fast these tools are improving. New versions are coming out one after another. I think it’s only a matter of time before we will be able to create animations in a similar way, and probably even photorealistic videos.

4. Realtime translation

We are living in the age of globalization. And AI will soon dissolve one of the most important barriers between cultures. Real-time translation is here.

Do you remember Google Glass?

New era of smart glasses have started, and it’s way better:

Can you imagine the impact technology like this could have on humankind? No more ordering the wrong meal in a foreign country, or being unable to ask for help in a life-threatening situation. And the amount of culture this opens up to be more easily accessible. Isn’t this amazing?

5. Next generation of digital assistants

There is a ton of time-consuming and boring tasks we have to complete on our computer each day. We could outsource these tasks to our assistants. But not all of us are CEOs and can justify hiring someone to tackle these tasks.

But this may soon change with the arrival of the next generation of digital assistants. These could potentially even do tasks that we don’t know how to do ourselves. For example, fill out complex spreadsheets.

Read more about the developments of one AI-powered tool like this here:

ACT-1: Transformer for Actions

And while you are at it. Sign up for the waiting list. It simply looks too good to miss out on.

6. Brain-computer interfaces

Advancements in these technologies have led to a better understanding of our brains. And brain-to-computer interfaces are improving. Today most of us use our smartphones countless times throughout the day. But in the future, we might communicate with electronic devices directly from our brains.

Here is a video explaining this technology and providing some insights on the latest developments in the area:

7. AI transcription

AI has gotten exceptionally good at transcribing speech. Even with audio from noisy environments and speakers with heavy accents. And as a bonus, real-time translation can be added to the mix.

Is the age of taking notes over? Are transcriptionists going to lose their jobs?

Judge for yourself. Here you will find a Demo of OpenAI’s whisper that was released just a couple of days ago:

Introducing Whisper

My mind is blown. How about yours?

Which one of these developments did you find the most exciting? And what did I fail to mention? Let me know in the comments! :)

Closing Thoughts

AI is slowly taking over every aspect of our daily lives. And we need to follow these developments to stay ahead and leverage the power this technology brings to our benefit.

Artificial intelligence is lowering the barrier to entry for many career paths. But it’s also increasing the speed of life and the sheer quantity of information and tools at our disposal. We need to be well informed of what’s possible. And we need to use the best tools at our disposal for the task at hand to truly thrive in this fast-paced revolution of technology.

If you are interested in reading more about artificial intelligence here is a list of articles for you:

AI and Creativity

Thank You For Reading! :)

Stay curious and stay HungryMinded!

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This article was originally posted by me on Medium