Bill Gates compared AI to the creation of the PC, microprocessor, internet, and mobile phone, saying it will alter how "people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other."
In a blog post today titled "The Age of AI has begun," Gates said "entire industries" will reorient themselves around AI, and businesses "will distinguish themselves by how well they use it."
In the post, Gates describes how he last year challenged OpenAI to create an AI model that could pass an AP biology exam without being specifically trained for it.
- OpenAI completed the challenge "in just a few months" using its GPT AI model, he wrote.
- The model scored 59 out of 60 on the multiple-choice exam and produced "outstanding answers to six open-ended questions," scoring the highest possible number.
- Gates also asked it a non-scientific question — "What do you say to a father with a sick child?" — and the model's answer "was probably better than most of us in the room would have given."
- At that point, Gates wrote, he knew had had just viewed "the most important advance in technology since the graphical user interface."
In the post, Gates goes on to describe the definition of AI, productivity enhancements, improvements in health care and education, AI's risks, and its "next frontiers."
- He argues that people should attempt to balance the "valid" fears about AI with its ability to improve lives.
- He also makes the case that market forces won't naturally lead to AI technologies that help the underprivileged. Rather, it will likely do the opposite.
- "With reliable funding and the right policies, governments and philanthropy can ensure that AIs are used to reduce inequity," he wrote.
- The entire post is available to read on Gates' blog.
