An Eye on Innovation: The Future of Artificial Intelligence
Even though the future looks rocky, there is no doubt that further innovation will allow artificial intelligence to revolutionize the world for the better.
By Peter Hablinski
Although the world is far from Skynet and robots rivaling the human mind, artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to reach new heights in 2024. With the normalization of photo processing, many companies have an eye on video production and entirely new applications. As companies like Apple join the fray, the AI industry is booming. Unsurprisingly, the rapid progress is cause for concern as the United States, India, Mexico, and other democracies prepare for their 2024 elections. Moreover, policy motions only add to the unpredictability of AI’s future. Even though the future looks rocky, there is no doubt that further innovation will allow AI applications to revolutionize the world for the better.
Before analyzing artificial intelligence and its role in the rest of 2024, it is important to understand the level of innovation expected to arise in the upcoming months. With photorealistic images from programs like DALL-E behind us, companies are expected to deploy generators capable of videos as well.1 Beyond that, chatbots and image generators are expected to merge along with the new video generators. AI companies are in the process of building “multimodal” systems capable of different modes of media, and as they learn from each type, they can reply in different ways than the prompt.2 In theory, someone could insert an image as the prompt, and the AI would be able to respond with either a video or text analyzing the image. Improved reasoning is also on the horizon. Companies are working on systems capable of carefully and logically solving problems through steps occurring behind the scenes that build on each other, similar to human reasoning.3 That is not to say that AI is still far off from human reasoning. Although it is capable of solving computer science or physics problems, there are still flaws that are evident of its creation. Because generative AI sifts through information on the internet to learn, limitations will remain for quite some time. The last major improvement is regarding AI agents. These autonomous systems can use software apps and other tools on the user's behalf, so people can delegate tedious work, like tracking expenses, to an agent for completion that day.4 AI Agents will not only be invaluable for companies, but their utilization in everyday life will be a life-changer. As long as AI is relegated to basic tasks, it can become an asset for companies seeking to assist algorithms and programs to track and compute a variety of records. The upcoming months can certainly expect a myriad of innovations to come together and revolutionize AI for the use of multiple different platforms.
It is guaranteed that the security of AI will be a big focus for 2024. As of now, the fear of AI-generated content ranging from deepfakes to generated voices is peaking, especially as the U.S. electoral process is poised to be threatened by misinformation this year.5 Fake content has always been a threat to democracy, but AI is now capable of producing increasingly realistic images and headliners that can affect the progress of the election. Regulatory measures are deemed impertinent considering the likelihood of AI-generated political campaign tactics. Luckily, this response looks ensured. Recently, the CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman stated that the U.S. as a nation and the AI sector will both be fine.6 This is largely due to the preemptive actions taken by the company ahead of this year’s elections worldwide. Even now, OpenAI is working to improve platform safety through accurate voting information, enforcing measured policies, and improving transparency.7 Specifically, watermarks on generated images and the banning of ChatGPT in political campaigns have been included in preparations thus far. To avoid past disruptions as seen in previous election years, AI companies are voter-proofing their products for the foreseeable future. Since most potential threats are regarding the abuse of AI to publish misinformation, the promotion of transparency will darken the lines between reality and illusion. The struggle behind detecting misinformation will always remain, but a proactive AI market that actively stifles corruption is likely to prevent widespread consequences. Although many linger on the potential for AI’s corruptive misuse, it is clear that security measures make it viable for positive applications. Furthermore, the enhanced efforts seen going into 2024 result in a rewarding outlook that promises a fuller potential for AI in the upcoming months.
The first of these aforementioned advantageous applications is regarding cybersecurity. Cyber companies have been quick to make AI a competent resource. By utilizing AI, potential threats can be identified faster. Furthermore, AI-powered solutions sift through large arrays of data to identify malicious activity as well as automate security processes, such as management.8 By locating attacks faster, teams can spend more of their time responding to threats. Accordingly, the act of automating cyber security tasks has dropped response times significantly and allowed for costs to be scaled back. Although there is room for error regarding misuse, it is easy to side with the benefits of AI here, for it still provides a powerful tool for companies to assist their efforts. The focus on AI moderation in 2024 will also place AI companies ahead of hackers trying to abuse the capabilities of AI, for there are specific protections in place that bar public AI from the hands of hackers. Oftentimes, programs built into the AI make it refuse harmful requests off the bat. Furthermore, the ability to process different mediums of data will make it an even better tool for companies to adopt. It is unlikely that the fear of AI falling into the wrong hands will drop, but as government policy and companies continue to be proactive in their securitization efforts, one can comfortably predict that the risk will continue to be offset by the reward.
The second application is in researching climate solutions. AI’s ability to monitor the environment has led to innovative adaptation technologies for when regions are undergoing disaster, agri-food systems and crop management optimization, and an increase in renewable energy efficiency through AI algorithms.9 Because of AI’s ability to sift through data faster than humans, it can track the progress of energy transitions or the current climate to advise better solutions. Innovative AI-powered solutions are already being implemented in less developed countries, such as Kenya, and other regions. Another key example is a live atlas that maps and measures solar and wide installations through AI and satellite imagery.10 Despite similarities to current efforts, AI adds an extra layer of reliability to the interpretation and problem-solving level. Furthermore, it is comfortably better than current systems based on its speed, utility, and efficiency. On that note, AI agents will likely find their use in climate sectors throughout 2024 as researchers seek to delegate the crunching of numbers to computer systems as they do the requisite analysis for innovation. AI's ability to automate mundane and long-winded tasks will allow for fruitful and crucial changes in the upcoming months. Breakthroughs on climate change have been slow in the past, but the power of AI will certainly be key in tapping fruitful solutions.
The last major application for AI is in the broader category of businesses. Based on current statistics, the AI market size is expected to maintain an annual growth rate of 40.2% considering 84% of executives think the leveraging of AI will help grow their businesses.11 With this in mind, it is clear that AI has grown into a core component for businesses. The specific usage of AI in the business world is somewhat self-explanatory. By boosting efficiency through process automation, improving the speed of service, surveying customer insights, and analyzing opportunities for new products, artificial intelligence has supercharged businesses worldwide6. Many AI applications have resulted in improved customer service and product recommendations, thus furthering marketing patterns for businesses in the modern era. As customer satisfaction grows in importance, the analysis required is fulfilled by AI solutions. Outside of the customer service aspect of operations, supply chain management has benefited from generative AI in just as revolutionary ways. AI is unique in that it can be applied to a vast array of tasks and function smoothly in each, thus making it essential to the expansion of businesses. There is always a risk of automation, but AI still has room to be fleshed out as a tool to be matched with human employees to further the work. Also, improved reasoning will match the power of automating tasks with analysis. It is safe to say that future AI innovation will make it a fierce competitor against human employees, but it is important to embrace it with its strengths and weaknesses. By following a path founded in AI innovation, companies will be able to revolutionize marketing, sales, tax, and management through real-time machine learning. In 2024, AI will especially be helpful for small businesses as accessibility increases, and either way, its valuability will be difficult to overlook throughout the upcoming years.
AI has no doubt endured its struggles in the past. After constant berating for the potential to incentivize cheating, misinformation, and nefarious play, AI has marched out of litigation and political hellfire somewhat victoriously. Sure, AI has found its way into the hallmarks of school cheating and blatant misinformation, but the idea that AI is destined to be harmful is a laughable misconception. Limitations have been set through policy action, and it is clear that boundaries are positive. With that in mind, it is safe to predict large success for AI as a whole as 2024 inches onward. With security constantly improving the user experience for public AI companies, the level of innovation and monitoring will also allow AI to thrive in the hands of countless sectors adapting to the new world of information technology. Whether seen in cybersecurity, climate solutions, or business applications, artificial intelligence is here to stay and will further revolutionize the world in 2024.
1. Metz, 2024
2. ibid
3. ibid
4. Metz, 2024
7. ibid
10. ibid
11. Wharton, 2022