ChatGPT Gamechanger or Hype?

RAVI VENKATESAN takes us on a journey through the world of Artificial Intelligence, charting its history and developments, and also exploring where we are headed.

- RAVI VENKATESAN

Part of my job as the CEO of a technology company is to keep track of trends and technologies that could be incredibly transformational. This knowledge is critical to formulate strategies for our business. To use a hockey analogy from Wayne Gretzky, it is to "stake to where the puck is going."

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is definitely a major trend today and has probably had more historical cycles of being sold as transformational and not living up to its promise than any technology in the last century. It all started with early neural networks in the 1940s and 50s that looked to make a computer mimic a human brain and its mental functions. In other words, the endeavor was to construct an electronic brain. The benchmark for success was established by Alan Turing in a 1950 landmark paper with what is now popularly known as the Turing test. In simple terms, if you interact (perhaps chat) with a computer, but are unable to tell the difference between this experience and chatting with a real human being, then the electronic brain has passed the Turing test.

So, what is AI? The fundamental building block of AI, or an "electronic brain," is a neural network that mimics the kinds of neural networks our brains have, and in essence has a "learning mechanism." I remember writing neural networks in languages like Prolog and C as a student. The fundamental difference between this type of computer program and other purely computational programs or software, was the aspect of being able to learn, potentially predict, and come to conclusions.