Two years after the launch of Chat GPT, here is how artificial intelligence has affected society and some of its notable advances
Imagine you have vision problems. By taking a single photo, you receive a detailed description of your surroundings. In seconds, you know what is there and make a decision. This is possible with Be My AI, a virtual assistant that integrates Chat GPT-4 to help blind people navigate the world with greater independence.
The launch of Chat GPT transformed various industries and essential sectors. In some cases, AI shows the potential for a more inclusive society, but it also presents challenges.
What is ChatGPT and why was it revolutionary?
Chat GPT is a large language model (LLM). According to IBM, LLMs are trained on enormous databases, have multiple uses and applications, and produce text that simulates human writing.
LLMs eliminate the effort of creating and training separate models for different purposes. Instead, models emerge that handle multiple tasks and continue learning through machine learning.
LLMs are a milestone in the field of natural language processing and AI. The launch of Chat GPT-3.5 made it simpler to use a sophisticated autoregressive language model. Open AI made a great deal of knowledge accessible in a short time and allowed users to transform it into an endless range of formats.
Widespread business adoption
Its use expanded further in March 2023, when OpenAI, the organization that developed the model, published its application programming interface (API) for private companies and developers through Chat GPT-3.5 Turbo.
With that, thousands of companies integrated the API into their applications, products and services. By the end of 2023, 2 million developers were working with the Chat GPT API, including 92% of the largest U.S. companies, according to Fortune magazine.
The impact of Chat GPT led various companies to develop their own LLMs, whether to compete with Open AI, reduce costs or integrate them into their platforms. Some of them have been:
Microsoft: launched 365 Copilot and Windows Copilot in March 2023 as workplace productivity tools. It later released the Copilot
app. Meta: released its own LLM, Llama, in February 2023. It has been integrated into its website and into Facebook and WhatsApp in specific geographic regions.
Chat GPT's capabilities have clearly transformed the labor market, improving chatbot performance in customer service, assisting in application development in programming and analyzing the impact of large-scale campaigns in advertising.
Learning to use these models can make work easier for those who find the best applications for them, according to Tania Hernández, a software engineer who worked on the implementation of Copiloto, Platea's chat.
"It will definitely optimize how you work in many ways, and seeing how you can use it to do your job faster, seeing if there is something it can do for you […]. Understanding how to use it well would benefit everyone," she said.
How AI has affected the United States and Puerto Rico
Beyond Chat GPT, AI has also transformed other industries and sectors:
Health: the use of generative AI can optimize the reading of imaging scans, accelerate drug development and improve the effectiveness of clinical studies
Safety: AI can automate certain processes to respond to emergencies more quickly. During the Fiestas de la Calle de San Sebastián 2024, the Municipio de San Juan installed emergency buttons that used AI for "automatic detection of suspicious behavior, pattern recognition and early warnings about possible threats"
Transportation: companies such as Tesla, Waymo and Uber have used AI to develop autonomous vehicle systems, an application that could make public transportation more accessible. With generative AI, these vehicles are expected to become increasingly safer
Tourism: the time spent planning and researching destinations drops sharply with tools like Copiloto, the first AI chat focused on Puerto Rico, changing the role of travel agencies in the tourism sector
Manufacturing: In Puerto Rico, classes on AI in Project Management have been organized to train professionals in AI techniques
Education: the Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR) in Mayagüez has its own AI institute, while UPR in Río Piedras held its first AI Conference in September
AI can also close educational gaps, acting as a leveler between less experienced individuals and high-performing employees. For those who have worked on implementing AI in Puerto Rico, there is clear potential to address individual challenges and expand essential services.
"What excites me most about AI is its potential impact in two fundamental areas: health and education. Given the challenges of access to health services, these models can become valuable sources of convenient and reliable information. At the same time, AI offers the possibility of delivering personalized education at scale," said Francisco "Tony" Navarro-Sertich, executive vice president of Red Ventures Puerto Rico.
The productive adoption of AI could bring many benefits, but it will depend on three critical areas, according to Navarro: at the individual level, people's comfort and familiarity with AI; at the business level, the infrastructure and processes required; and a shift in mindset, which calls for "adopting a mindset of innovation, patience and curiosity".
Tools and adaptation
In this way, the archipelago could position itself as a leader in making use of LLMs.
If you want to learn more about how to use models like Chat GPT, you can start with this Open AI guide, this image generation guide with DALL-E 2, or this summary of 10 techniques for generating effective prompts.
You can practice your skills using our AI chat, Copiloto. Ask it for a holiday song to celebrate the season!
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
