AI Unleashed: Entering the AI Era

Extramile Digital presents – AI Unleashed, our ongoing blog series discussing all things AI.

Entering the AI Era, is the sequel piece to our first instalment ‘The Origins of AI’.

Just to recap, for those that missed it, ‘origins’ discussed the earliest known concepts of AI, the first examples of AI programs in action and superheroes. Yes, you read that right.

As promised last time out, in this instalment of AI unleashed, we’ll take a look at some of the driving forces behind improvements to AI technology and what has led to AI garnering so much mainstream attention.

Factors Fuelling AI Growth

Since the times of AI being nothing more than science fiction, technology as a whole has evolved exponentially. I mean, your once cutting edge Nokia 3310 is now an antique, our fancy 4K TV’s will be an obsolete format before long and TikTok isn’t just a pop song by Ke$ha anymore. How time flies eh.   

Anyway, existential crisis to one side…  

If we consider the rate at which other forms of technology have evolved, it is fair to say that AI has lagged behind slightly, however, this is largely due to the fact that the growth of AI was almost entirely dependent on the improvement of computing technology as a whole.

So, what exactly led to the eureka moment? What were the major driving factors that truly blew the lid of artificial intelligence?

Firstly, improvements in GPU and processing hardware, ever improving hardware has enabled developers to create AI models that are increasingly capable.

Secondly, advancements in algorithm technology, due to innovations in machine/deep learning, AI has been granted significantly improved performance capabilities.

Finally and arguably the most important factor is data. The seemingly infinite volumes of instantly accessible information online has provided AI with an unlimited knowledge pool to draw from, allowing it to make more informed decisions and provide solutions with greater accuracy.

AI For Everyone

Throughout the years, the gradual growth of artificial intelligence has gone relatively unnoticed to those outside of tech circles, especially when compared to other forms of technological developments.

Huge breakthroughs in the deep learning algorithms required for AI image recognition went largely under the radar to most, meanwhile the computer science community was growing increasingly excited in the background.

Even when Apple released Siri in 2011 and Amazon released Alexa in 2014, although both of these forms of AI were hugely popular, the subject of artificial intelligence as a whole remained something of a niche.

Nowadays though, pretty much everyone has heard of AI, Chat GPT (Gary as we call it) for one, is now a household name and as we’ll discuss in later instalments (spoiler alert), that it is only the tip of the A-Ice berg. “Ba Dum Tss”    

Sorry about that …

So, what was the turning point? The simple answer is accessibility.

Now more than ever AI programs are readily available to individuals and businesses, opening the floodgates for innovation.

This surge in popularity amongst the mainstream audience has led to rapidly improving artificial intelligence programs with the technology being leveraged as standard practice now that its potential is being realised en masse.

What was once limited to select experts with specialised knowledge, is now out on the shelf for everyone to use.

In Summary

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in relation to the ever increasing use and capability of AI.

As more and more people come round to the idea of artificial intelligence as a tool to increase productivity, support efficiency and compliment creativity we will steadily see it become the norm.

In the next instalment of AI Unleashed, we will take a look at the ethical implications of artificial intelligence including privacy concerns, spreading social misinformation and the potential impact of AI on job displacement.