On September 23, Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, published an article titled The Intelligence Age. In it, he envisions a prosperous society, a future world that will be a wondrous sight beyond what we can imagine today, driven by breakthrough developments in artificial intelligence technology.
After reading the article, I’d like to share my thoughts.
Over the past decade, there have been significant advancements in the field of artificial intelligence. In particular, the substantial increase in chip computing power in recent years has brought to life algorithmic concepts proposed decades ago, now creating tangible value for society. Machines’ ability to accurately recognize images is no longer a novelty; machine learning applied to big data enables financial systems to precisely identify risks and anomalies in transactions. Recommendation algorithms immerse people in their interests; and now, multimodal generative AI (processing text, images, sound, etc.) provides around-the-clock virtual companionship and a versatile assistant.
With the support of AI, the world is rapidly evolving. The 2013 film Her depicted love between humans and AI in a future world. Little did we know that just ten years later, intelligent agents capable of real-time conversation would actually emerge! In a mere two years, OpenAI’s AI models have quickly started to understand the real world. According to Sam's expectations, AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)—systems that learn, think, and perform multiple tasks like humans—could be realized in a few years. We await the astonishing changes this will bring to our world.
Entering the 21st century, human society and scientific progress have entered a relatively slow period. Today, there are numerous issues to resolve and conflicts to ease. People eagerly hope for a new force to act as a powerful driving engine, bringing about a new flourishing era. In this context, AI, which has begun to demonstrate its capabilities, is held in high hopes.
We hope AI will help accelerate research in biomedicine to alleviate human suffering.
We hope AI will assist humans in completing work tasks, addressing the challenges of an aging population and labor shortages.
We hope AI will explore the vast universe, helping humanity understand a broader world.
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As Sam mentioned, technology has guided humanity from the Stone Age to the Agricultural and Industrial Ages. Technological progress has also driven the shift from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. The Industrial Revolution brought mechanization and mass production, while the advent of computers and the internet revolutionized the generation, storage, and dissemination of information, fostering globalization and the rise of the information economy. What changes will occur as humanity gradually enters the Intelligence Age?
In the short term, AI’s exceptional capabilities in task execution may disrupt today’s labor market. However, the current division of labor is a product of the Industrial Age. I believe that as we enter the Intelligence Age, further improvements in productivity will liberate labor, shaping a new social structure. At that time, individual imagination and creativity will be fully unleashed, giving rise to various new professions and new ways of societal operation.
For humanity, resource allocation has never been equitable. My concern is that AI, which heavily relies on large-scale computing resources, may not escape this outcome. Sam advocates for reducing computing power costs and building sufficient computational resources so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of the AI era. It is easy to imagine that computing resources may become a crucial part of future infrastructure development. In a pessimistic scenario, if vast computing power is monopolized by a select few, the dream of shared prosperity for all humanity could shatter: AI might become a magical remedy solely for the elite, or worse, the world could descend into endless conflicts over this strategic resource.
At the forefront of technology, every move by OpenAI becomes a focal point. Founder Sam's article has also garnered significant attention. Perhaps he is aware of astonishing new developments from internal research, or he is actively creating buzz for more funding opportunities. Regardless, we cannot deny the transformative impact of breakthroughs in AI technology across various industries, inspiring more people to explore and research in the vast field of AI.
Artificial intelligence expands our beautiful imagination of the future. The era of human-machine collaboration, creating abundant value, is at hand—let’s not miss this best of times.