Even the most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) would struggle to conceive a plot as colourful as OpenAI. The twists and turns surrounding the recent drama, with Sam Altman as hero-turned-antihero, is proof that truth is stranger than fiction. And that AI can be as entertaining off-screen as on.
Zoom out a little further, and the OpenAI intrigue has crowned a memorable month filled with innovation, iteration, and competition. Adobe unveiled cutting-edge AI tools for filmmakers, and Elon Musk went further and teased a new straight-talking AI chatbot Grok. We've also seen the Biden administration propose new AI laws and players, including LinkedIn, New Computer, and IBM, make further forays into artificial intelligence.
On the chip side, meanwhile, Amazon entered an alliance with Anthropic for AI chip development and the latest AI tool from Alibaba is harnessing Apple's potent M3 CPUs for AI applications. If you feel like you need a chatbot to summarise the industry's latest developments, you're not alone. In AI, life comes at you fast.
Imagine whisking someone from the 16th century two centuries into the future. Despite shifts in fashion and the expansion of towns, the environment they'd find themselves in during the 18th century would still be surprisingly recognisable.
The world may have evolved, but it maintains a sense of enduring familiarity at its core. If someone from the past tried the same time-travel experiment today, they'd be really confused. The internet changed things super fast, and now AI is propelling this acceleration to unprecedented heights."
If you're a business owner, you may wonder how best to approach the AI arms race. Do you bury your head in the sand and pray it's a craze, or do you go all in and pledge your future to it? The honest answer lies somewhere in between artificial intelligence is transforming the world faster than its advocates imagined. But it probably won't obsolete your business. And it's certainly not too late to get on board.
The Great Reset Is Here
It was once feared that automation would render manual labourers redundant, but thus far, blue-collar workers haven't been replaced by robots. Instead, they've learned to live side by side, often operating in the same plants and production lines to complement one another's inherent strengths.
Something similar will occur with AI. Artificial intelligence won't replace humans. Rather, humans who use AI will replace those who don't. From a business perspective, then, it's a case of learning how best to harness the machines to amplify the qualities that make your company great.
When assessing the implications of the AI revolution sweeping through our digital streets, there are two strands to consider: the technological and the philosophical. From an infrastructure perspective, there are already concerns that demand for AI/ML is causing bottlenecks and sending GPU costs spiralling.
As is so often the case with emerging technologies, however, this threat is creating opportunities, in this case in the form of DePIN solutions that chain networked GPUs together to create clusters of computing.
The philosophical aspects of the AI threat, meanwhile, concern the potential for LLMs (Large Language Models, a deep learning algorithm that can perform a variety of natural language processing tasks) to manifest unconscious bias, and unwittingly discriminate against historically marginalized groups.
At the same time, there is a risk of AI being neutered through an obsession with filtering ideologically pure results that align with the current creed du jour. What's the point in extensively training an AI in pattern recognition, after all, if you then have to spend thousands of hours untraining it?
These are problems for the experts to fix. But they're challenges for all of us to ponder as we prepare to embrace AI. So what can we say for certain about the near future of artificial intelligence?
Don't Feel Threatened, Seize the Opportunity of a Lifetime
In the grand tapestry of life's concerns, AI need not be one of our fears. Much like past technological leaps, from the microchip to the internet, which expanded rather than diminished employment opportunities, AI is poised to follow suit. It's not on a mission to snatch your kids, take your job, or disrupt your community.
The dystopian visions of living in pods, surviving on UBI, and partaking in state-sanctioned leisure activities are far from the imminent reality. Nevertheless, those who embrace AI will gain a significant edge in both the business landscape and the job market.
While many anticipated the automation takeover of millions of low-skilled jobs, the unexpected twist unfolds in high-skilled professions. Astonishingly, it's the creative industries, from copywriting to visual editing, where AI is making significant strides and mastering its domain.
But higher up the chain, new opportunities emerge. The demand for tech talent intensifies, whether in the realm of AI development or among prompt engineers who unlock the intellectual potential of AI by posing the right questions.
If widely implemented with proper checks and balances, artificial intelligence will support an even better business landscape, allowing more consumers to enter the market and create new products and services.
The market for artificial intelligence is expected to grow twentyfold by 2030 to almost two trillion dollars. Supply chains, marketing, product making, research, analysis, and any other industry you care to name will adopt AI in some capacity. Chatbots, image-generating AI, and mobile applications will be the most visible face of this trend.
You're Still Early
If you're wondering whether you've missed the bus, the answer is no. Not even close. Most companies worldwide either haven't adopted AI/ML or are still in the research phase. In North America, 42 per cent of companies haven't implemented the tech, while 22 per cent are rolling it out, and 21 per cent are scaling up the technology, according to a June Workday survey.
You're still early, and there's still ample time to integrate AI into your workflow, not in a panicked bid to stay relevant or best the competition, but as a rational decision based on cost-benefit analysis. Don't do AI just to say you're doing AI, in other words. Do it for the efficiency, creativity, and productivity it can unlock.
With Great Technology Comes Great Responsibility
I make no secret of my conviction in artificial intelligence as a technology to effect good in the world. At Bitget, we apply AI not only in conventional sectors like translation and customer service but also in trading activities. Recently, we have provided AI bots for trading spot grid, futures grid, spot CTA, futures CTA, and spot markets.
We will be expanding our use of the technology, aiming to help users master complex investment strategies with the assistance of AI's powerful capabilities. But like any invention, I am also attuned to AI's darker side and its potential to be misused, be it by human operators or, perhaps more terrifyingly, by the AI itself. Tales of AI bots capable of insider trading and lying are by no means apocryphal.
It's sometimes said we're living in a post-truth world where there is no right and wrong, black and white: just different belief systems competing to be heard. The arrival of duplicitous AI will serve to further muddy the waters. One LLM's information is another's disinformation.
The great AI reset won't be a mass creation or mass extinction event. Life as we know it will largely continue as it was. But beneath the surface, the forces underpinning our workflows, creativity, and productivity will be powered by the invisible hand of AI.
For business owners considering embracing AI, there are three questions to consider:
- What are my clients' problems this technology can solve?
- What are the potential problems AI could introduce?
- What preventative boundaries can I set to ensure this never happens?
For example, to effectively address client needs with AI, business owners should conduct thorough market research, using surveys, focus groups, and industry analysis to pinpoint specific client challenges and pain points. Armed with these insights, they can then customize AI solutions to directly tackle these issues, whether through automating repetitive tasks or enhancing customer service.
We should also avoid overdependence on technology. Contingency plans are needed to ensure business operations can continue even in the event of AI system failures. Train employees to maintain critical functions without total reliance on AI.
Like any business decision, there are pros and cons to consider. Weigh up yours and then make your decision before it's made for you. AI is going to change everything. But for now, there's still time to pick your path and select how the story ends. Choose wisely.
I think the primary principle is to ensure that the objectives of AI align seamlessly with your business strategy and core values. It's crucial to avoid adopting AI solely for its technological allure; instead, remember that while AI is a powerful tool with transformative potential, the ultimate goal should always be its meaningful integration in service of human needs and objectives.
Gracy Chen is the Managing Director of the crypto derivatives exchange Bitget, where she oversees market expansion, business strategy, and corporate development. Before joining Bitget, she held executive positions at the fintech unicorn company Accumulus and Foxconn-backed VR startup XRSPACE. Gracy was also an early investor in BitKeep, Asia's leading decentralized wallet. In 2015, Gracy was honored as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum. She graduated from the National University of Singapore and is currently pursuing an MBA degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
