With all the buzz about generative AI and its implications for the future of work and society, it’s important to also consider its potential as a force for good. Read on to learn how AI is transforming industries and creating positive change.
Generative AI is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that includes text generation, image generation, voice, video, etcetera. Basically, it’s new, unique content generated by neural networks. You may have seen some of these out in the wild, like ChatGPT or “deep fake” videos.
Generative AI has existed for some time but has really gained attention recently as its capabilities have been further developed. AI-generated content has become so high-quality that it can be difficult to discern from the real deal. This alone has created a stir—not just in tech, but in society and culture at large.
Positive impacts from an unexpected source
Generative AI holds great potential for making a positive impact on society. Here are just some examples of ways it can do this:
- Better personalization, to make things work for you. Generative AI can be used to create personalized content and recommendations, tailored to your preferences. For instance, a generative AI system can analyze a user’s browsing history and use it to recommend new content that may be of interest.
- The new and unexpected: creative applications of generative AI. Much like a canvas and paintbrush, generative AI can be used as a creative medium to push the boundaries of human expression. Generative AI is churning out music, literature, visual art, even poetry—fed by prompts.
- Automating the mundane and repetitive. Want a break from working on spreadsheets and reports? Generative AI can automate these types of tasks—from generating reports or summaries to creating presentations. For customer service-oriented tasks, chatbots and automated replies can help expedite the customer service process. Businesses save money and customers get help faster: a win-win. This saves time and reduces costs to business, so employees have more time to work on the creative and complex parts of their roles.
- Helping differently-abled people navigate challenges. Generative AI holds great potential to help make technology more accessible to certain users—such as seniors who have difficulty using traditional interfaces. Generative AI can churn out captions for people who are hard of hearing or generate audio descriptions of visuals for people who are visually impaired.
Even traditionally non-technical industries are getting a boost from AI. Agricultural AI startup Prospera collects approximately 50 million data points each day from 4,700 fields. Then AI is used to analyze them to identify disease and pest outbreaks, or find opportunities to increase yields, eliminate waste, and reduce pollution. (See this World Economic Forum article: This is how AI could feed the world’s hungry while sustaining the planet.)
Ethics, ownership and other considerations
Advancements in generative AI do not come without scrutiny. As we move further into uncharted AI waters, there’s a lot of questions that follow suit. Will AI replace jobs? What about issues with copyright and intellectual property—for example, owns the royalties to AI-generated music?
ChatGPT has also posed problems for academic institutions. How can academia discern AI-generated text from content written by a student? Here are just a few articles that touch on these hot issues:
- China drafts regulations for safe development of generative AI
- Quebec seeks to legislate AI
- Italy banned ChatGPT, but may now relent
The answers to these ethical and ownership questions might not be apparent at the time of writing since there’s no precedent to go from, but answers will emerge as the technology becomes refined and streamlined into everyday life. Much like the invention of electricity, the fax machine, or the internet, there will be disruption before there are results.
Become a part of the future
If you’re an AI practitioner or feel inspired to become one, generative AI is a fascinating and innovative area of focus.
Iveta Lohovska, principal data scientist at HPE, explains how generative AI holds power as a great tool, and goes on to describe how learning prompt architecture is key:
“Generative AI models are very different. Some are horizontal, some are vertical. Some are conversations based, some are like search engines. So, if you want to interact with them, you need to learn what kind of model it is, what’s the style of the model, and how to extract what you want out of it.”
Generative AI is a rapidly-evolving technology that has potential to transform our relationship with technology, and with each other in society. From creating new art and music to automating workflows, the potential for generative AI is just beginning to unfold. Will you be a part of it?
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Kristina Lechuga
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
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KristinaLechuga
I am an HPE Education Services Marketing and Social Media Specialist with a love for all things creative. I love marketing especially because I get to combine storytelling with an analytical approach to create exciting content. I'm an avid reader, painter, and music lover.
