On advancement


Once again, we’re venturing into the realm of AI. If you’re feeling inundated with AI discussions, feel free to skip this one. However, if you’re interested in the irreversible trajectory of technological advancement, particularly in AI, then this exploration is for you.

The adage “Once the genie is out of the bottle, it can’t be put back” aptly describes the current state of AI, now a ubiquitous feature in our everyday devices like laptops and smartphones. This marks a point of no return, akin to other groundbreaking technological milestones in history.

Consider Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press, introduced in the 15th century. It revolutionized the dissemination of knowledge, leading to significant cultural and scientific advances. Once the first book was printed, there was no going back to a world where knowledge was the exclusive domain of the elite.

Similarly, the advent of the internet drastically changed our ways of communicating, accessing information, and conducting business. It has become an indispensable part of our daily lives, irreversible in its impact.

In the present era, AI mirrors these historical transformations. Following the release of advanced models like GPT-4 in 2022, AI has not just accelerated rapidly; it’s become an integral part of our daily existence. The real revolution lies not just in creating more powerful models, but in embedding them into common devices, enhancing their accessibility and specialization.

This leads us to an important aspect: the true value of AI lies in specialized, fine-tuned models that cater to specific tasks. For instance, a lawyer would derive more benefit from an AI model specifically trained for legal research than from a general-purpose one.

An interesting phenomenon in the evolution of technology is that as it advances, so do its performance and reliability. Consider the development of CPUs. As they’ve become more powerful, they’ve also become more efficient and robust. This pattern is relevant to AI as well. By focusing on enhancing AI technology, its performance and reliability naturally improve.

The analogy of automotive technology is fitting. As cars became faster, their safety features also evolved. The industry didn’t halt the production of faster cars due to safety concerns; instead, it enhanced safety alongside speed. Similarly, the focus in AI development should be on continuous improvement, with the understanding that each advancement will inherently bring better performance and reliability.

The aim should be relentless progress. By persistently advancing AI, we inherently enhance its capabilities. This approach has been effective in various technological domains and is likely to be just as successful in the field of AI. It’s not about striving for perfect AI models, but about constantly refining them, knowing that each iteration brings us closer to more efficient and effective AI applications.

In the world of technology, there’s no going back. We can’t undo AI, but we can steer its evolution forward, ensuring that each step in its development also raises its performance and utility.

Published by Alexander

- Alexander is a professional Operations (DevOps/NetOps/SysOps) SRE and Developer living in Tokyo.