20-9-2023 (SAN FRANCISCO) The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is igniting what some experts are dubbing a new gold rush in the tech world, reinvigorating an industry that had been grappling to identify its next major breakthrough.
Generative AI leverages deep-learning models to generate fresh content, including text and images, rooted in the historical data on which it was trained. Recent rapid advancements in this technology have breathed fresh life into the entire tech sector, rekindling a sense of optimism and purpose, according to industry observers.
The technology took center stage at Dreamforce, a prominent tech event held in San Francisco earlier this month. Organized annually by enterprise software giant Salesforce, the conference holds significant sway in the global technology landscape.
Last November, the debut of the popular generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, by research laboratory OpenAI provided a glimpse into the potential of generative AI technology. ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI that simulates human-like conversational dialogue.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, stated, “It will be unthinkable not to have intelligence integrated into every product and service. It will become an expected and obvious feature.”
AI has rapidly reshaped the narrative around an industry that initially appeared to be struggling, making headlines for widespread layoffs at the beginning of the year. Many experts contend that AI, similar to the rise of smartphones and social media, is profoundly transforming how people live and work.
Rob Seaman, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Product at communication platform Slack, commented, “I think (AI) is obviously on par with or even surpassing the impact of mobile or social media previously. There’s a sense here that hasn’t been felt in two or three years, and it’s truly exciting.”
AI has injected a substantial influx of funding into both public and private companies. For example, shares of technology firm Nvidia, whose chips power AI applications, have surged more than 200% this year. Companies are expected to make significant investments in physical, digital, and human resources to acquire and implement these new technologies.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has forecasted that global investment in AI technology will approach $200 billion by 2025. Jon Stine, Executive Director of the non-profit organization The Open Voice Network, which develops technical standards and usage guidelines for conversational AI’s future, described this as a “tectonic shift.” He emphasized that generative AI is a transformative technology that is just beginning to reveal its impact on productivity, industry reshaping, and knowledge acquisition.
While some skepticism exists, driven partly by the recent struggles of cryptocurrencies, which were the last major trend in Silicon Valley before ChatGPT’s emergence, most observers believe that generative AI is charting an impressive course across the tech industry.
