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The Future of AI: Sam Altman and Andrew Ng in Taiwan
Two of the most prominent figures in the artificial intelligence industry, Andrew Ng and Sam Altman, shared their perspectives on AI's future at the "AI Master Forum" hosted by the Yongling Foundation on September 25, in Taiwan.
Sam Altman: The Luckiest Generation in Human History
For Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and the brains behind ChatGPT, this marked his third visit to Taiwan. He emphasized the significance of community enthusiasm in discussing the latest AI applications and how this passion is crucial for success.
Drawing a parallel with the emergence of the first iPhone, he likened AI to a blend of creativity, enthusiasm, and commerce. However, being at the helm of OpenAI and the father of ChatGPT comes with the weight of public skepticism and concern over AI. Altman remains optimistic, asserting that while any technology has its pitfalls, the key lies in continuous improvement and innovation.
"This may be the luckiest generation in human history. You have the opportunity to do anything, even establish a company immediately using AGI(Artificial General Intelligence) technology," said Sam Altman. Yet, he underlined the importance of collective decision-making in society rather than entrusting all power to a single corporation or elite group.
OpenAI's initial non-profit setup, despite later transitioning to a profit-making entity due to high infrastructure costs, epitomizes this philosophy by maintaining a "capped profit" structure.
Andrew Ng: The magical moment of ChatGPT and the opportunity for small businesses
As a co-founder of Google Brain, co-founder of Coursera and managing partner of AI Fund, Andrew Ng has been instrumental in democratizing AI education. He created the renowned Stanford University course on machine learning, which has most students registering on Coursera. Ng expressed his enthusiasm for AGI technologies, emphasizing that the release of ChatGPT was indeed a pivotal moment.
Ng has a unique connection to Taiwan. He chose to establish his startup DeepLearning.AI team in Taiwan, recognizing the country's potential as one of the hubs for AI research and development. This move not only underscores Taiwan's potential as a thriving hub for AI innovation but also demonstrates Ng's forward-thinking approach to fostering global collaboration in AI development.
The emergence of ChatGPT and other large language models has reduced the lengthy months-long process of AI training and deployment to just a few days or even hours, signaling significant changes for industries, according to Ng.
In the past, simply labeling data for AI consumed vast human resources and incurred significant costs. With tools like ChatGPT, users can utilize prompts to achieve desired outcomes with ease. Ng highlighted the untapped potential of the "5 million dollar project". Instead of tech giants focusing solely on multi-billion dollar industries like advertising and search, smaller sectors, such as restaurants, can benefit significantly from the AI revolution.
The smaller profits in these sectors might not attract tech giants, but those working in these areas can leverage AI tools to bypass the traditional programming and training steps, allowing them to develop AI systems faster and with fewer resources.
AI opportunities and general-purpose technologies
During his presentation, Andrew Ng shed light on the vast opportunities that AI presents. He emphasized that AI technologies are general-purpose technologies, capable of revolutionizing a wide range of industries. These technologies hold immense potential for creating value on a massive scale.
One significant area where AI can make a substantial impact is through supervised learning. Andrew Ng pointed out that there is still a wealth of untapped potential in this domain, with numerous opportunities to harness the power of AI for solving real-world problems.
Additionally, he highlighted generative AI as another major tool in the AI toolkit. Generative AI, with its ability to create content, images, and more, opens up new avenues for creativity and innovation.
Ng introduced a new entrepreneurial method: first, identify an "opportunity" where AI can be applied. Then, find the right CEO to lead an AI team to create the solution. AI Fund's investment strategy reflects this approach, as seen in their investment in Bearing.ai, which was established in response to the 2023 requirement for all shipping companies to comply with the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). AI Fund led a seed round fundraising of $3 million for Bearing.ai in 2021.
Ng's advice to everyone: learn some programming. While he believes that conversing with computers using natural language will become commonplace, understanding how to interact with computers remains a vital skill.
Great minds think alike. Altman in the end echoed Ng's sentiments about future iterations of GPT, emphasizing the ease with which users will communicate their objectives to AI in natural language, turning ambitious goals into reality.
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