Wilma Inventor – Miranda l May 9, 2023 l Manila Bulletin
Nowadays, talks about artificial intelligence (AI) goes buzzing everywhere. Personally, I find it exciting to discover new ways that AI can create.
I am a great fan of OpenAi particularly ChatGPT. Imagine, what used to take me several minutes to find in the browser, I can easily find in ChatGPT.
For instance, there were times in the browser that there were sites with templates of certain documents that required you to pay to download and there are some documents that are even hard to find.
However, in OpenAi particularly ChatGPT I just have to instruct the AI to find me a sample form of certain documents and “voila” the exact document form I needed was flashed on the screen.
Some people may ask – what is the fuss over ChatGPT when it looks like it is just like any virtual assistant like SIRI . The difference is that virtual assistants respond to commands and perform various tasks on our devices. On the other hand, ChatGPT has the ability to hold a human-like conversation.
These are all part of the many incredible innovations that the world is experiencing now – thanks to AI. When you are using a smart assistant, whether it’s Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, or Bixby, you should have known by now that these assistants, are also run on AI. Since I always use my iphone nowadays more than my android phones I use Siri to give my instructions such as calling a certain contact number or finding me a certain data.
Self- driving cars are also almost unbelievable innovations through AI.
AI reduces human errors… performing risky activities such as space expeditions and sea explorations down to the deepest sea, which is impossible for man to reach. AI can perform tasks much longer than humans.
In finance, AI helps detect fraudulent activities such as money laundering. An article on forbes.com dated February 24, 2023, shows how AI can really open up a new world of easy detection of fraudulent activities and ways to tackle them.
For instance, by leveraging AI companies are able to detect large numbers of transactions such as credit card payments and e-payments daily. This allows companies to validate transactions and respond to threats and strengthens security.
And it does not stop there. More innovations are coming since many tech companies are still working on it.
However, you must have heard lately that Elon Musk has stopped pursuing his innovative activities with the use of AI and warned that AI will soon become just as smart as humans, and for him its scary because humanity’s existence is at stake. Eton has been suggesting regulations to monitor the development and use of AI but so far, regulations are not in place faster than the speed at which AI is transforming human lives.
With proper ethical standards in place, it can evaluate at what rate can the technical revolution continue. In the wrong hands, it can be worse than nuclear power.
Even Sam Altman the CEO of OpenAi which recently released CHATGPT4 and the company that developed CHATGPT, the controversial consumer-facing artificial intelligence application, also warns that the technology comes with real dangers and that these models could be used for large-scale disinformation. In the wrong hands, they could be used for offensive cyber-attacks (source:theguardian.com dtd. March 17, 2023).
In the right hands, AI can be a great blessing to humanity. But if it is controlled by a “devil’s advocate”, it can be a disaster.
*** (Wilma Miranda is the Chair of FINEX Ethics Committee, Managing Partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAs, Board of Directors Member of KPS Outsourcing Inc. and Treasurer of Negros Outsourcing Services, Inc. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions.)