In just a few years, generative AI has gone from a light-hearted curiosity known for gimmicky chats and surreal images to an essential tool for business.
According to a global study by consulting firm McKinsey, by 2024, nearly two-thirds of organizations will be using Gen AI for tasks such as customer service automation, data analysis, and streamlining operations. The rate has doubled starting in 2023.
The cultural and economic impact of AI is just beginning to be felt, but Goldman Sachs estimates it could add $7 trillion to global GDP over the next decade.
Meanwhile, the rise of AI has sparked both enthusiasm and concern among business leaders, with some hailing it as as transformative as the internet and others warning of slow innovation and ethical risks. There are some too.
See what CEOs, billionaire investors, and tech founders are saying about AI in 2024.
AI is a world-changing innovation like the internet and the printing press
Jamie Dimon, CEO and Chairman of JPMorgan Chase, is one of the most influential voices in global finance and a staunch advocate of AI.
The financial services giant has been integrating AI into its operations for more than a decade and currently employs more than 2,000 AI and machine learning experts across departments including marketing, fraud prevention, and risk management. I’m doing it.
In his annual letter to shareholders in April, Mr. Dimon said of the potential impact of AI: “The results will be extraordinary, perhaps surpassing the major technological inventions of the past several hundred years. I’m completely convinced that it will be as transformative as the printing press or steam, among other things. ”
Similarly, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in a Nov. 9 blog post that AI “will completely change our lives, both online and offline.”
AI continues to improve, albeit gradually
Despite significant advances in generative AI in recent years, its development is entering a slower, more gradual phase, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit in December. .
“The low-hanging fruit is gone,” Pichai said, adding that the next breakthrough will require deeper innovation. While current language learning models like ChatGPT have certainly improved at tasks like inference and sequence completion, another seismic shift is unlikely to occur anytime soon.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shares this perspective, urging businesses to leverage AI now, even if its most transformative potential is still years away. He compared advances in AI to the slow beginnings of the industrial revolution and emphasized the need for patience and innovation.
Nadella acknowledged that the benefits of AI do not yet outweigh the costs, and said it will take time for its effectiveness to be reflected in profits. For now, its greatest value is in increasing productivity and preparing the industry for more advanced applications in the future, he said.
Ethical concerns make AI the genie in the bottle
As generative AI advances, some business leaders are becoming more cautious about the technology.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett compared the invention of AI to developing an atomic bomb at the Berkshire shareholder meeting in May.
Buffett likened AI to a powerful, world-changing “genie” that, once released, cannot be fully contained, much like nuclear technology. “We might wish we had never seen the genie, or we might do something amazing,” he added.
This is especially true when it comes to the potential for AI fraud. “I’m going to send money to myself in some crazy country,” Buffett joked after seeing an AI-generated version of himself online that even his family wouldn’t know was fake.
Our military advantage and our place in the world depends on our ability to invest in AI. period. End of story.
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban also expressed his skepticism about AI in an interview with Wired earlier this year.
He argued that generative AI relies heavily on large text datasets and lacks the adaptability needed to solve real-world problems. “Wisdom doesn’t come in writing,” Cuban said, highlighting how AI struggles with tasks that require true contextual understanding and intuition.
Although he believes these challenges will take years to overcome, Cuban doesn’t think AI is overhyped. Instead, he emphasized the importance of U.S. technology investment and warned that global stability depends on it.
“Our military advantage and our standing in the world depends on our ability to invest in AI,” Cuban told Wired. “Period. End of story.”
Disclosure: CNBC owns exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank,” on which Mark Cuban appears as a panelist.
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