The Age Of AI Has Begun: Bill Gates

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Tuesday published a blog mentioning that “the age of AI has begun”.

In the blog, Gates said he has seen two demonstrations of technology which have struck him as revolutionary. He explained that the second revolutionary tech according to him was the artificial intelligence (AI) based work being undertaken by OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT).

He mentioned that he knew that he had seen the most important advance in technology since the graphical user interface when an OpenAI model was able to do well in Advanced Placement biology exam and then was also able give a “thoughful” answer to a non-scientific question.

“The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone,” he wrote on the blog.

Gates feels that AI will change the way “people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other”. He added that entire industries will realign to accommodate it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.

A forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide shows that global spending on artificial intelligence (AI), including software, hardware, and services for AI-centric systems. The spending will reach USD 154 billion in 2023, an increase of 26.9 per cent over the amount spent in 2022.

“[..] AI can reduce some of the world’s worst inequities,” Gates mentioned in his blog.

He wrote that the worst inequity is in health as 5 million children under the age of 5 die every year. “That’s down from 10 million two decades ago, but it’s still a shockingly high number. Nearly all of these children were born in poor countries and die of preventable causes like diarrhea or malaria,” he explained and added that AI could help save the lives of children.

Gates also emphasised that climate change is another place where AI can have a significant impact.