ChatGPT is garnering a lot of attention as of late. The chatbot that OpenAI released in November 2022 has smashed the early adoption rates of other products, “accomplishing in two months what it took TikTok about nine months and Instagram two and a half years,” according to a cnet.com article. While this leap within AI is impressive, ChatGPT is merely the advancement that will eventually be viewed in much the same way as the cordless phone was (for those of us old enough to remember how revolutionary the cordless phone was).
To be fair, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already made a significant impact on society and its influence is only expected to grow in the future. From improving healthcare and transportation to revolutionizing the way we work and communicate; AI has changed many aspects of our lives.
AI is Changing the Way We Work and Live
One of the most significant influences of AI is how it has changed the way we work. AI-powered tools have enabled businesses to automate routine tasks and analyze vast amounts of data, making work more efficient and freeing up time for more creative and strategic tasks. AI has also improved many aspects of our daily lives, such as providing more personalized and efficient customer service, improving navigation and traffic flow, and enhancing the accuracy of weather forecasts. While AI has made many tasks easier and more efficient, it has also raised concerns about its impact on employment. Some worry that AI will automate many jobs, leading to widespread job loss and economic disruption.
If history teaches us anything, it is that, rather than being bad or good, these tools will be bad and good. Some jobs will go away, others will rise in their stead. Just as no one could imagine carrying a phone around with them everywhere they went 20 years ago; today, we think little of how dependent we have become on our phones today – not just for phone calls, but emails, internet searches, entertainment, even medical device monitoring and adjustments (think hearing aids and pacemakers). The reality of the integration of these tools into our everyday lives is that we really aren’t that far away from society as it is depicted at the beginning of the movie iRobot.
ChatGPT today – iRobot tomorrow
So, where do we go from ChatGPT? What is the next step in the AI awakening? The answer to this is somewhat limitless (social implications from AI-dating to replicating a lost loved one and industry evolutions such as the extinction of drivers’ licenses/car ownership as autonomous vehicles become a mainstay are just a few examples). One outcome of AI’s impact on our future lives that is interesting to postulate is the combination of AI, reinforcement learning, and robotics.
Reinforcement learning is a type of machine learning that focuses on using algorithms to enable machines to make decisions based on feedback from their environment. The goal of reinforcement learning is to teach an agent to take actions that maximize a reward signal. In the context of robotics, the agent is a robot and the actions it takes are movements or actions it performs in its environment.
In reinforcement learning, the agent interacts with its environment by taking actions and observing the consequences of those actions. Based on these experiences, the agent adjusts its behavior to improve its decision-making over time. The agent is incentivized to take actions that lead to a higher reward signal, such as successfully completing a task or avoiding obstacles.
Reinforcement learning can be integrated with AI to build robots that are capable of making decisions and adapting their behavior in real-world environments. By combining AI with reinforcement learning, robots can learn from their experiences and improve their decision-making over time. This can lead to robots that are more autonomous and capable of completing complex tasks without human intervention.
For example, a robot equipped with AI and reinforcement learning algorithms could be trained to navigate a warehouse and locate specific items. The robot would start by exploring the environment and learning the layout of the warehouse. As it encounters different obstacles and finds the items it is searching for, it would update its decision-making based on the feedback it receives from its environment. Over time, the robot would become more efficient at navigating the warehouse and locating items.
However, the integration of AI with reinforcement learning and robotics also raises ethical and safety concerns. There is a need to ensure that the algorithms used in reinforcement learning do not harm people or cause unintended consequences. Additionally, as robots become more autonomous, there is a risk that they may make decisions that are not aligned with human values and interests. As AI continues to evolve, it will be important to continue monitoring its impact on society and to ensure that its development benefits all people.
Chatbots enabled with AI, like ChatGPT, have placed our society on the doorstep of a new and fascinating leap forward. For the Mobomo team, we consistently position ourselves on the cutting edge of technology through our contracted work and Mobomo Labs. While it may seem like this tech is years away from implementation, AI, reinforcement learning, and robotics are all advanced enough right now to build viable prototypes. You may find yourself taking that leap sooner than you realize; after all, ChatGPT wrote 65% of the article you just read and midjourney generated the graphics/visual imagery within this article.
