A lot of otherwise technologically challenged Americans were introduced to artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023, though they had already been using it for several years without knowing it.
ChatGPT and other chatbots briefly became a trendy way to spend one's spare time. Michael Whittle of Pulpit AI says millions of Americans logged in to write William Shakespeare-style poems about muscle cars or to complete homework assignments.
"ChatGPT all of a sudden gave every single one of us like a playground to experiment in and play around in," Whittle tells AFN.
AI, he says, has been simmering behind the scenes in programs and industries for a while, but now the technology is ready to burst out into the open and revolutionize every aspect of society.
"I think we haven't even begun to understand the changes that are going to come to society, the workplace, white collar jobs, knowledge work jobs over the next three to five years," which, Whittle submits, makes control of the technology so important.
Various countries, including China, the E.U., and the U.S., are racing to put their stamp on AI, write the rules for the rest of the world, and exploit it for both good and malign purposes. But Whittle believes it should develop more like the internet did in the '90s.
"I think you have to open-source it. I think you have to give it to the people, and let people build around it," he suggests. "The last thing I want to do is trust nation-states and governments to be the ones to tell us how and when to use AI."
