AI Series #1: “I’m not sure what AI is and I’m afraid to ask…”
I am fortunate in my business to work with folks across all ages, demographics, and backgrounds. In many of my municipal client communities, elected officials tend to be retired and/or Baby Boomers. This generation has seen technology change dramatically in their lifetime. Now, it’s important to note that not every Baby Boomer has the same shared experiences or levels of familiarity with technology. I often hear from my clients' staff (who tend to be younger) that they feel a disconnect between their level of technological use and literacy and that of their older elected officials. The chasm between technology adoption and comfort is ever-widening.
All this to say, I realize that this gap will only continue to widen as technological innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) come into play. I present here, without judgment, an explanation of what the heck AI is for those who might be afraid to ask.
My intention is to explain the technology as simply and in as accessible a way as possible for the benefit of my public sector clients. This is the first piece in a series about AI.
At the most basic level, what is AI?
AI is shorthand for “artificial intelligence”. Let’s break the phrase “artificial intelligence” down into its two parts, starting with the word “intelligence.” Merriam-Webster defines intelligence as “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations” and “the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria.” In short, intelligence is the ability to process information, learn from it, and use it to make decisions or adapt to what is learned.
“Artificial” is the easier part of the definition: it simply means non-human machines or computer systems. These systems are made by humans, but they don’t occur organically in nature.
By combining these two definitions, we know that “artificial intelligence” means:
Human-made machine systems which can process information, learn from it, and use it to make decisions / adapt to what is learned.
Are you with me so far?
Is AI new?
We are hearing a lot about AI currently due to some emerging technology which has taken over headlines, but AI is by no means a new technology. AI has existed since the 1950s. An early application which had a wide level of news coverage was the 1980s development of IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer. Deep Blue famously beat chess world champion Grand Master Garry Kasparov in 1997. This was an early example of a neural network, or a computer system designed to function like the human brain.
Chess games aside, AI is very likely already a part of your life. Some examples you might have encountered personally:
Netflix offers you suggestions of movies or shows to watch based on your viewing habits.
Amazon recommends to you products related to other things you’ve searched for (such as batteries if you’re looking at battery-operated appliances).
Your smartphone unlocks with facial recognition or your fingerprint in lieu of a passcode.
Meta (Facebook / Instagram) recommends friends or certain types of content or ads in your feed.
Your email account flags certain messages as spam.
Your bank or credit card flags your account and freezes activity when a suspicious transaction occurs.
Your smart home thermostat adjusts heating and cooling with local weather trends.
Your Ring doorbell sends you a geographic alert for your neighborhood when a lost pet is found.
Your iPhone gives you an alert if you leave your Apple Watch or iPad behind when you’re going somewhere.
Navigation apps (Waze, Google Maps) reroute your directions if traffic or a delay is ahead on your route.
Your grocery store shopping app sends you digital coupons for the exact items you purchased last month.
Your bank or credit card flags your account and freezes activity when a suspicious transaction occurs.
Your smartphone or word processor auto-corrects spelling errors.
We’ll talk more about how those tools and technology work in our next piece.
“I know what AI is and that I already interact with it, but why am I hearing so much about AI lately?”
You’ve probably heard a lot about AI this past year because of a generative AI tool called ChatGPT which launched in November 2022. We’ll dive into that tool in greater depth in the third piece in our series.
Generative AI is artificial intelligence that is capable of generating text, images, or other media. The tool learns how to generate these various forms of content by training on datasets of these various forms of content and learning how to mimic similar characteristics into new content.
ChatGPT demonstrated to society at large the (seemingly endless) possibilities and applications of generative AI. This is a technology disruptor that will change the way we work, shop, create, and live our daily lives. It’s just as historic as the advancement of the Model A Ford, the personal computer, or the cellphone. AI has the potential to disrupt many sectors.
Generative AI doesn’t just simply have the ability to write - it can compose music, generate contracts, create artwork, and help make decisions of consequence (such as hiring, college admissions, or public benefit recipients). The current and potential power of AI is why it’s so important that leaders in the tech and public sector fully understand the technology and the good and the bad that can come from it.
“What do you mean by the ‘bad that can come from AI’?”
AI can be used either directly or indirectly to harm others. This article from Forbes highlights 14 ways that AI could be a detriment to society. But just like any new technology, we don’t gain anything from denying its existence - technology and innovation have always persisted and always will. That said, we have a societal responsibility to understand the technology and regulate it appropriately.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI addressing U.S. Congress in May 2023
Leaders from tech giants such as Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, and Alphabet (AKA Google) have been outspoken in their warnings and criticism of the technology - including in congressional hearings. This piece shares some of the concerns leaders in the tech industry have about AI’s rapid evolution.
Takeaways:
This is our first piece in a series about AI. The purpose of this article is to explain at a simple level what artificial intelligence is, the history of the technology, and why we’re hearing so much about it in the news of late. Artificial intelligence describes machine systems which have the capacity to process information and learn from it in order to make decisions and/or adapt to said information. Machine systems are not by any means replacing humans, but the ability to process data on a large scale and in a rapid timeframe exceeds human capabilities. This technology is not new and is already evident in many examples in our daily lives. Generative AI has dominated the news lately, namely because of ChatGPT. There are some concerns about the safety of this technology, including from leaders in the tech industry. The tool has the power to greatly enhance society, but it can also cause direct and indirect harm.
