With the rapid emergence of generative AI, the world is rapidly evolving as more people and organizations hop onto the bandwagon. A recent study published by Microsoft researchers suggested that an overreliance and dependence on AI-powered tools like Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT might make you dumb.
The researchers attributed their findings to the tools' negative implications on a person's critical thinking, leading to the deterioration of cognitive faculties. However, more trouble seemingly looms on the horizon with AI's rapid advancement and broad adoption across the world.
In a recent interview with Patrick Collison, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates detailed four "scary things" the next generation should be worried about.
According to the philanthropic billionaire:
"There's, you know, about four or five things that are very scary, and the only one that I really understood and worried about a lot when I was young was nuclear war. Today I think we'd add climate change, bioterrorism/pandemic, and keeping control of AI in some form. So, you know, now we have four footnotes."
Bill Gates has openly discussed the highlighted areas of concern in the past, particularly nuclear war during his youthful days.
While there have been multiple reports indicating there's a 99.999999% probability AI could lead to existential doom, Gates believes the technology could help bridge the intelligence gap in society.
We don't have as many medical experts, you know, people who can stay on top of everything, or people who can do math tutoring in the inner city. And we have a shortage of intelligence, and so we use this market system to kind of allocate it. AI, over time — and people can argue about the time frames — will make intelligence essentially free.
Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates
Interestingly, Bill Gates is optimistic that if the highlighted issues are addressed, the future looks bright for the next generation.
"Alzheimer's, obesity, you know, we'll have a cure for HIV, we will have gotten rid of polio, measles, malaria," added Gates. "'The pace of innovation is greater today than ever."
Related: Bill Gates says AI will replace humans for most things
While Gates' predictions might seem a tad over the top and outrightly scary, he believes it might be the motivation the next generation needs to ensure that it can steer clear of those issues.
"They'll actually, to some degree, exaggerate the likelihood and maybe the impact of some of those things in order to activate people to make sure we steer clear of those things."
Elsewhere, Bill Gates has also raised concerns about generative AI potentially claiming his job while simultaneously presenting a 3-day work opportunity as the technology would lessen the burden by taking over repetitive tasks at the workplace, allowing employees to focus on critical matters.
Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk seemingly echoed Gates' sentiments, claiming AI would claim jobs from humans. He further argued that the world would evolve into a utopian society where work would be deemed a hobby.
It'll be interesting to see how generative AI impacts our lives in the long run and whether we'll be able to beat the alarming odds stacked against us by using the technology to unlock new heights and scientific breakthroughs.
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