Dmitry Volkov is a Doctor of Philosophy, serial entrepreneur, investor and Founder and CEO of Social Discovery Group.
It seems that the world is awash in all things artificial intelligence. And as businesses begin to embrace this technology, two AI-powered tools have emerged as essential productivity enhancers: Microsoft 365 Copilot and ChatGPT. While both tools offer AI-based language models that can assist users with various tasks, they differ in terms of functionality and personalization.
The older of the two by four months, ChatGPT is essentially an AI-powered chatbot that can understand natural language and provide relevant responses to user queries. On the other hand, Microsoft 365 Copilot provides personalized assistance and guidance to users for tasks such as creating Word content, designing PowerPoint slides, making sense of data in Excel, responding to emails and chats and more. While ChatGPT is built on training models, Copilot uses machine learning algorithms to learn a user’s work patterns and preferences over time. It quite literally learns from its users and adapts to their needs.
This ability to learn has many wondering just how far AIs like Copilot will go. Will they simply be assistants that make our lives easier? Or, as some speculate, will they cause our extinction? But before I get to the answer, it’s important to examine how deep our connection to AIs already is.
Are we all devices “operating on bits of information?”
Early thinkers Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon theorized that the human mind and machines process information in much the same way. Additionally, though there are differences between the brain and a computer, some experts today have seen some similarities between them. This opens up Pandora’s box because, in theory, could it one day be possible to create an intelligent entity on a computer and form a genuine, human-like relationship?
While the arguments for consciousness being a computation remain esoteric for most people, human intuition often leads us to attribute human-like qualities to AI. From my perspective, this could help explain why more people are developing personal relationships with AIs. For example, apps like Replika and EVA AI have been making news headlines for providing companionship.
Why am I in love with an AI?
Many of today’s popular dating apps use AI for moderation, fraud prevention, conversation starters and choosing matches. But thanks to Open AI’s ChatGPT and technologies like NVIDIA’s AI-powered avatars, AIs have made their way from working behind the scenes to being front and center. The primary reason is that artificial beings can now take on personas that seem human. Thanks to complex learning abilities, chatbots demonstrate human emotions and response patterns.
Even as a cure for loneliness, these artificial humans offer a great solution—especially for people that suffer from social anxiety or want online-only relationships. And from a business perspective, this presents a golden opportunity for companies operating in the dating, gaming, entertainment and online retail space. AI-powered humans can increase stickiness and improve user experience by giving users a friend that is always there to listen, play, shop and more.
I find that AI’s ability to demonstrate emotion presents an opportunity for marketers as well. Brands can now leverage AIs to deploy personalized messages that speak to consumers’ emotions automatically. As such, marketers can offer the same level of empathy and personality digitally as they would through physical communication channels, and they can do it at scale. AIs can also help marketers personalize promotional offers based on users’ unique preferences.
Is AI out to get us?
However, AI’s rise also brings up some critical ethical concerns around things like deepfakes. It’s true; AI can be used for good, but it can also be used for nefarious purposes, such as creating fake news or spreading propaganda.
Deepfakes sometimes look so realistic that people find it hard to differentiate between them and actual people. As the technology improves, the lines will become more blurred. This could make those that hold online-only relationships even more susceptible to manipulation. The Center for Generational Kinetics found that 56% of Generation-Z is friends with someone they only know online.
Another important ethical consideration is that AIs could displace workers from several industries, including marketing and entertainment, where AIs have the potential to replace spokespeople, influencers, actors, writers, analysts and more. There’s already been a trend of virtual social influencers. Some of these AIs even have millions of followers.
So, will we compete or coexist?
I often turn to other philosophical thinkers for answers to important questions. For me, the answer to whether artificial humans and real humans can coexist depends on how we adapt. Can we design AIs so they inherit some of our moral values? Can we enhance our own computing power by merging with technology and embracing the extended brain?
Philosopher Nick Bostrom has theorized scenarios where developing true artificial intelligence could lead to a danger that exceeds nuclear weapons. However, he also sees a superintelligent future in which AI will be used to better our lives in many ways. Then there’s Daniel Dennett, who, like Newell and Simon, believes there will be no reason to compete with AIs because humans have always been largely robotic. As such, the coexistence of artificial and real humans will not be the problem many fear.
I tend to agree with Nick Bostrom in the thought that it all depends on how we let our AI future unfold. In many ways, we are essentially creating a new species of beings that have the potential to interact intimately with humans in every way. So it’s up to business leaders to guide the development of artificial humans. And they can do that in the following three ways.
1). Establish ethical guidelines that encourage actions that are in the best interest of humanity and society.
2). Maintain full transparency about AI’s development and uses.
3). Educate and prepare society for the coming age of digital humans.
By developing clear guidelines, leveraging AI for social welfare, anticipating potential risks, partnering with external technology and policy experts and educating stakeholders, businesses can help ensure AI remains our helper, not our enemy.
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