Reflecting on 2023's Milestones and Peering into 2024's Potential

Goodbye 2023 and Hello 2024! 

Happy New Year to our wonderful friends at the other end of this post. I'm eager to share a brief yet insightful overview of the astonishing advancements AI has gifted us in 2023, and to peek into what 2024 might hold.

In 2023 we saw a surge of industries impacted by AI development. According to Forbes, “Over 60% of business owners believe AI will improve customer relationship and 97% of business owners believe ChatGPT will help their business.”Let's examine some key highlights from 2023, a year significantly marked by AI advancements. 

Firstly, looking into the medical industry some amazing AI tools were created. AI image processor, RETFound, can recognize various diseases in retinol images. According to Nature articles, “RETFound enhances the performance of detecting ocular diseases by learning to identify disease-related lesions.” This represents a major breakthrough, offering promising prospects for the rapid and efficient detection of these diseases. Additionally, AI also improved surgical practices with robotics, hinting at potential remote surgeries in the future. Andrew Lacy, CEO and founder of Prenuvo, emphasized in a CNBC interview that “AI can supercharge the work that they’re doing.” This sentiment reflects a broader trend in the medical field, where both specific products and general practices are increasingly leveraging AI. This ongoing integration of AI into healthcare promises to bring significant advancements and efficiencies.

From teachers to professors to students and parents, everyone has utilized AI in the education industry whether it be through ChatGPT or classroom enhancers such as platforms like Coursera and edX. Even exams with online AI proctoring systems are geared toward keeping integrity and confidentiality. This embrace of AI across the educational landscape highlights its remarkable ability to enrich learning and streamline processes, illustrating a significant leap forward in how we approach education and knowledge sharing. Another realm of education is research which has been significantly affected by AI. According to Georgia Tech, “increasing the speed and efficiency of data analyzing processes, completing predictive modeling, automating tasks, and even encouraging the use of interdisciplinary collaboration.” The utilization of AI, not only saves time but also enhances accuracy and insights within the realm of research.

We can also see Climate change efforts through various AI tools, such as Verdfigris, which optimizes energy consumption within buildings. These efforts play a crucial role in promoting sustainability, demonstrating how technology can effectively contribute to combating climate change. 

AI has also touched the artistic side of each of us with programs like DALLE making imagination a 2D reality. Artists like Refik Anadol and Taryn Southern use AI algorithms to take their art and music to the next level showing AI's never-ending possibilities in the creative world. More specifically within the music industry, we see things like Freddie Mercury doing a cover of a song made 20 years after he died…“I Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele. Bringing back voices we loved and thought were lost, blending a touch of nostalgia with the cool new possibilities of tech.

Lastly, who can forget about GhatGPT? Generative AI has helped people across the board whether it is coming up with an email, new recipe, study guides for an exam, travel plans, workout guides, and so much more. AI has been there to make everything more efficient.

As change comes naturally, so does backlash. According to an MIT technology review, the notion of AI leading to negative outcomes gained widespread popularity this past year. We can see social media influencers, politicians, and everyday employees scared of what AI can look like in the future. Worries of job losses, and AI takeover as we see in the Terminator and matrix movie. In turn, policymakers came together and have created many acts, regulations, and expectations set for AI and its use, which I am sure will only continue to develop. 

So what does this mean for 2024? Having so many new developments and ideas, is there still room for growth?

OF COURSE!

Forbes has outlined 10 predictions for AI in 2024, and I've selected a few that I find particularly intriguing to share:

The term large language model will become less common.
A "Large Language Model" (LLM) is a type of advanced AI program designed to understand and generate human-like text, capable of assisting with a wide range of language tasks. Programs like ChatGPT, BERT, etc. Forbes claims that with the constant release of new AI, these words won't be a good enough term to encapsulate all that they are. 

The most advanced closed models will continue to outperform the most advanced open models by a meaningful margin.
*Coughs in IRIS AI* … All jokes aside this essentially shows that An "open source model" (referring to a model whose source code is publicly available, allowing anyone to use, modify, and distribute it) will not perform as strongly as a "closed source model" (has its source code kept private and is typically controlled by a single entity - users can access its functionalities but cannot see or modify the underlying code.) This makes sense at the end of the day because privacy is key as we continue to undergo intelligent hackers, data breaches. A closed source is essential to keep data protected. 

Several Fortune 500 companies will create a new C-suite position: Chief AI Officer.
This is extremely intelligent. Just as social media became a thing and marketing and social media positions arose from it, employees will eventually need a major figure in the company to turn to with any questions, advice, or guidance on utilizing AI. I am shocked it is not already a thing considering how essential it is to many jobs.

Copyright issues will arise from generative AI utilizing information from online sources, and will make its way to the Supreme Court. 
I believe it's quite likely that as artists, writers, researchers, and others observe their work being used under different names, or for other purposes without proper credit, there will be growing frustration. This situation could lead to interesting developments, and I'll be curiously observing how it unfolds.

Outside Forbes I have one prediction of my own: AI-curated virtual experiences. 
This innovation would blend virtual reality with AI to create personalized, immersive environments for education, entertainment, or therapy. This ultimately could revolutionize how we live life. Personally, the thought of this is a bit scary, so we will see how everything unfolds in the coming year

As we bid farewell to 2023 and welcome 2024, we reflect on the transformative role AI has played in various sectors. Looking ahead, the debate around AI's implications continues, shaping policies and regulations. Embracing these changes, 2024 promises to be a year of continued innovation and growth in AI, marked by both excitement and critical reflection on its role in our future. 


Sources
Curry, R. (2023, July 12). The A.I. Revolution in health care is coming. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/12/the-ai-revolution-in-health-care-is-coming.html 

Garces, K. (2023, August 2). 12 ai artists who exemplify the Weird World of AI Art. Unlimited Graphic Design Service. https://penji.co/ai-artists/ 

Haan, K. (2023, December 11). 24 top AI statistics and Trends in 2023. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/ai-statistics/ 

Heaven, W. D. (2023, June 20). How existential risk became the biggest meme in Ai. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/06/19/1075140/how-existential-risk-became-biggest-meme-in-ai/?truid=&utm_source=the_algorithm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_algorithm.unpaid.engagement&utm_content=12-18-2023 

Perlow, J. (2023, December 7). Ai in 2023: A year of breakthroughs that left no human thing unchanged. ZDNET. https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-in-2023-a-year-of-breakthroughs-that-left-no-human-thing-unchanged/ 

Toews, R. (2023, December 22). 10 AI predictions for 2024. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2023/12/21/10-ai-predictions-for-2024/?sh=36362b434898 

Zhou, Y., Chia, M.A., Wagner, S.K. et al. A foundation model for generalizable disease detection from retinal images. Nature 622, 156–163 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06555-x
2023 AI trends in Healthcare. medDARE. (n.d.). https://meddare.com/news/2023-ai-trends-in-healthcare/