Last week, I shared a post about the rise of ChatGPT. To summarize ... new AI tools (like ChatGPT) are cool, but they can be a distraction if you're not focused on your actual business goals. Likewise, those tools seem smart, but they are not smart enough to replace you.
Below is a video containing an edited version of my contributions about using AI in business at a recent Genius Network meeting.
With something as powerful and game-changing as AI, smart people find a way to take advantage of it (rather than finding ways to avoid or ignore it).
If you keep your head in the dirt, you'll get left behind like Blockbuster, Kodak, or RadioShack.
With that said, one of the key things I've noticed about new tech is that there's massive churn. You've seen it with the blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The companies, products, and modalities that pioneer the industry aren't always the ones who make it. I think it's because they focus on technology instead of solving their customers' real problems.
Pioneers often end up with arrows in their backs and blood on their shoes. Too often, this causes them to give up before they achieve real and lasting success.
You don't have to rush, even if it feels like you're falling behind. To use a surfing metaphor, you shouldn't ignore the coming waves, but you can certainly take the time to wax your board, get in the ocean, and choose which wave you want to ride.
You can catch the little waves and take advantage of ChatGPT or Midjourney, but as a final reminder, if everyone is doing it, it's not a competitive advantage ... it's the playing field.
Technology is on the mind of most people I have talked to recently. Even with Big Tech letting go of droves of employees, the innovation happening in the world is impressive.
VisualCapitalist put out a list of 11 trends to look out for this year. Check it out.
As always, no list gets it entirely correct. Lists like this are made to spark interest and influence the direction of tech development. However, I've been impressed with what visualcapitalist has gotten right in the past.
A lot of the trends on the list make sense. India has been a massive investment space in tech over the last few years, and it's about time for more results to show. Healthcare is a massive investment space, and we're seeing a lot of innovation go to the medical space before migrating to other industries ... on top of health monitoring, other specifics like menopausal care could see more investment, especially with an increase in women-led and women-focused companies.
As well, Fintech has been hit hard since 2020. Many of the bulwarks of the industry have been sliced down as a result of covid-19, market turmoil, the Russia/Ukraine conflict, and more. These years haven't been without learnings. New market conditions require new approaches, but the past 2+ years have been a great opportunity for adaptation and advancement. After winter comes spring.
What trends do you think are missing, and what trends do you think won't come to fruition?
The speed of adoption is unrivaled, and it’s a sign of bigger things to come.
Unfortunately, not all news around ChatGPT has been positive. Microsoft released a version of Bing powered by ChatGPT, and it has been a mess. Bing’s chatbot has threatened its users, it claimed to be watching its developers through their cameras, and much more.
Despite that, ChatGPT and many other new tools are being used to great effect. For example, this episode of a Conan talk show was generated entirely by AI - the words, the voices, the video - all using AI. Click to watch how it turned out.
I was part of a panel on ChatGPT and the state of AI last week. As you might guess, a large part of the conversation focused on how businesses could use these new and innovative tools. It’s no secret that the list of potential applications is extensive. For example, I now use ChatGPT and Type.AI to help edit articles.
While they provide both context and content for the articles, their text tends to be "fluffier" than I prefer. It can be reminiscent of someone trying to sound smarter than they actually are. Instead of taking something complex and making it simple, it takes one good idea and hides it in some circuitous logic and language. After I clean it up, I'm usually happier with the article as a result.
However, I think about valuing AI’s uses in a similar way that I value discounts. When you come across a deal in a store that makes you think, “Wow, I need this”... It’s not really saving you money if you weren’t planning to purchase the item in the first place. It’s an additional cost.
If you’re tempted to start using new tools just because they’re exciting, realize that they are likely to be a distraction that could end up hurting your productivity.
Tools like ChatGPT can be used to great effect if they assist you in doing things you need (or want) to be done. In that case, they can help you create a bigger future with what becomes possible.
When used correctly, automation and innovation can help improve efficiency, effectiveness, and the certainty that you achieve desired outcomes. Meanwhile, they don’t charge you an hourly wage, they won’t get sassy when you tell them all the things they messed up, and they’re ready to work at all hours of the day.
Here are three concepts to consider.
AI can help you create a bigger future … but you have to know where you want to go (because activity isn’t progress if it isn’t taking you toward your destination).
If you’re afraid of Artificial Intelligence, you’re not listening. AI will inevitably become more powerful and widely used. Look to how it can help you get what you want rather than focusing on how to avoid the peril or feeling bad that other people use it better or more than you do.
If in doubt, begin. The 25-year journey starts with a single step.
I'm proud of our team. We have a shared sense of Mission, Values, and Purpose.
Also, we understand that robots aren't coming for our jobs. We're creating the robots, the AI, and the automation – and it's exciting!
With that said, as tech becomes more capable, some will focus on the promise ... while others will focus on the peril.
We're seeing lots of hyperbolic promise and peril in the news cycle recently because of ChatGPT. Trends in technology news appear to come in cycles, with different names and topics but similar patterns. This is because, despite the constant evolution of technology and the world, human nature remains relatively unchanged.
While browsing a library of our old content, I came across an old news story from a local news channel that discussed finding tech talent and featured Capitalogix. Here's the article. You can watch the video below.
It's not enough to invest in the right ideas or technologies. You have to invest in the right people as well.
"Standing still is moving backward ... so you don't only need new technology, you need a new level of data scientists – a new level of professional that can think about what's possible, rather than how to do what we want to do right now."
Even though we've got an incredible edge now, I recognize that edges decay faster than ever. The trick is to stay ahead.
The future is bright, and the best way to predict the future is to create it.
Last week, I talked about the time value of time - and the benefit of quality peer groups.
On Friday, one of those peer groups spent hours talking about the promise and peril of generative AI. While some people remained skeptical or in fear of what tools like ChatGPT made possible.
One of the members shared an AI tool directory that I thought was worth sharing as well. It's called Futurepedia.io
My contribution to the discussion was brief, but it amounts to this ... Nothing you're hearing about AI should scare you. It should scream opportunity. You don't have to rush. AI is at the beginning of a long upwards sloping cycle of impact and capability. However, AI isn't duct tape, and for most, it's not a business ... it's a tool to help you create a bigger future that wasn't possible before. Much like "internet" companies came and went in the late 1990s ... yet almost every company uses the internet in ways that were unimaginable at the beginning of the cycle.
People often get stuck searching for 'something' (often a singular goal or result). But, in their myopia, they miss the possibility of 'or something better.'
In my business, I'm rarely happy to settle for less than I'm aiming for ... but I am willing to happily take the 'or something better'. Nonetheless, it is hard to see (let alone be open to) other targets or possibilities when you myopically focus on achieving the lesser (but specific) goal or target you initially chose to focus upon.
So, here is a thought to ponder ...
What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening, hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all. You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny. You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity, to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality, and build a self-image with which you are able to live -- with your self-respect alive and growing. ~ Maxwell Maltz
Imagine what you believe this tipping point indicates is possible personally and professionally.
I don't know about you ... but that's a ton of birds. Probably too many. Forty gold rings doesn't sound too bad (and less likely to become worthless than the NFTs they thought about substituting here).
All together pretty noisy.
Hopefully, you bought presents that your partner would actually enjoy.
One of my go to claims about AI is that it can do almost anything ... but it can't do everything. Specific AI systems are becoming incredibly robust. Last year, I wrote an article emphasizing how big of a jump GPT-3 was from past language processors. I also shared a Seinfeld sketch created by GPT-3 that was so good it was almost unimpressive ... it just felt like a Seinfeld sketch.
It feels like every week, there's a new breakthrough in pop AI. OpenAI just released ChatGPT (for free) to the public. The promise of ChatGPT is to give a cogent reply to conversational discussions. It can help you code, it can write a poem, can answer your questions, and more. The code it produces is stellar, and it can even create a convincing romantic comedy using characters from various famous shows. It does a lot very well, but it does have some failings.
GPT-3 is 100x bigger than any previous language AI model and comes pre-trained on 45TB of training text (499 billion words). It cost at least 4.6 million US dollars (some estimated as high as $12 million) to train on GPUs. The resulting model has 175 billion parameters. This was impressive enough, but ChatGPT is actually not based on GPT-3 but GPT3.5 an even more robust model that improved on the ability to answer in a way that feels natural.
ChatGPT can talk about almost any topic you can think of, and even create prose that feels human; however, it's not perfect yet.
Unfortunately, this chatbot fails in many of the same ways as its predecessors. To start, it can present false information as true because it's essentially a "stochastic parrot" basing its answers on statistical regularities in its data sources, not on an actual understanding of the world. As well, a lot of its answers can include meaningless fluff that sounds good but doesn't actually answer the question meaningfully ... almost like a high schooler that forgot to read the book before writing an essay. It also can't produce ASCII art despite the advancements in AI art we've recently discussed.
Regardless of ChatGPTs faults, it's a very impressive piece of software. It can answer trivia like Google, write poetry and dialogue, it can pretend to engage in philosophic discussion, and it can help you correct your code or improve your writing.
Here's a sonnet I had it write about Artificial Intelligence:
AI, the future's shining light, A force that shapes our world anew, A source of endless possibility, A tool that cuts our burdens in two.
From language translation to deep learning, AI's capabilities are vast and grand, It helps us solve problems, find solutions, And gives us new ways to understand.
But with great power comes great responsibility, As AI transforms our world and lives, We must ensure that it's used ethically, That it helps, rather than subverts or deprives.
So let us embrace this technological marvel, And use it wisely, for the common good, For AI has the power to unravel Our deepest mysteries, as well as hurdles.
It does what it is supposed to do very well. It is much more conversational and robust than previous chatbots. Obviously, it doesn't do everything well, and I doubt a chatbot will any time soon. Nonetheless, it is a step forward … and it will create ripples of progress.
In the past, most profitable companies built or sold some sort of tangible product. The Titans of industry were automobile manufacturers, oil producers, land owners, etc.
Over the past 20 years, the Titans have changed dramatically. Now, the leaders are in tech, IP, and other intangible assets. Here is a chart showing the changing weight of tangible and intangible assets as part of the S&P 500’s total assets between 1975 and 2020.
By VisualCapitalist’s definition, intangible assets are holdings that don’t carry any physical or financial embodiment. This includes R&D, intellectual property, and computerized information such as data and software. Today, intangibles are worth over $21 trillion.
With technology becoming more ubiquitous, I think the trend will continue - which makes protecting your intangibles even more important.
Patents and trademarks are a great way to build a moat between you and your competitors. Remember, however, that anything you get a patent on becomes public knowledge - so be careful with your trade secrets.
There's a new trend of AI-generated profile pictures - using tools like avatar.ai.
Below are some sample results my son, Zach, got after downloading an iPhone app called Lensa. The company that makes it also offers a product called Prisma that is worth looking at as well. He paid $4 within Lensa to generate these AI photos (for context, avatar.ai charges more than 5x as much). He uploaded 17 photos from different angles (and with different expressions), and the app promised 50 pieces from 4 styles.
What do you think of the results? I thought some of them were surprisingly good.
Some were not so good ... (or at least outside my zone of artistic preferences).
After seeing his, I'll admit I got curious and made my own.
To be honest, these apps are still volatile ... meaning, sometimes they are good enough to seriously impress – but they also can underwhelm from time to time. Check out DALL-E for more examples of the dynamic range of possibilities and results.
Regardless, I am impressed with AI art's progress and momentum. Recently, generative AI has gotten a lot of hate (along with the hype), nonetheless, people are talking about it (meanwhile AI art is still not as polarizing as Kanye).
The reality is, most of these tools still are an elegant use of brute force. Nonetheless, I am bullish. Hardware and software are getting better ... and when fed more data, generative art depictions get better as well.
The uses continue to get more elegant and complex as time passes ... but we're still coding the elegance.
My Thoughts On ChatGPT and the AI Revolution
Last week, I shared a post about the rise of ChatGPT. To summarize ... new AI tools (like ChatGPT) are cool, but they can be a distraction if you're not focused on your actual business goals. Likewise, those tools seem smart, but they are not smart enough to replace you.
Below is a video containing an edited version of my contributions about using AI in business at a recent Genius Network meeting.
via GeniusNetwork.
With something as powerful and game-changing as AI, smart people find a way to take advantage of it (rather than finding ways to avoid or ignore it).
If you keep your head in the dirt, you'll get left behind like Blockbuster, Kodak, or RadioShack.
With that said, one of the key things I've noticed about new tech is that there's massive churn. You've seen it with the blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The companies, products, and modalities that pioneer the industry aren't always the ones who make it. I think it's because they focus on technology instead of solving their customers' real problems.
Pioneers often end up with arrows in their backs and blood on their shoes. Too often, this causes them to give up before they achieve real and lasting success.
You don't have to rush, even if it feels like you're falling behind. To use a surfing metaphor, you shouldn't ignore the coming waves, but you can certainly take the time to wax your board, get in the ocean, and choose which wave you want to ride.
You can catch the little waves and take advantage of ChatGPT or Midjourney, but as a final reminder, if everyone is doing it, it's not a competitive advantage ... it's the playing field.
Posted at 09:57 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Gadgets, Ideas, Market Commentary, Personal Development, Science, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
Reblog (0)