I know I haven’t posted in a while, but I wanted to do an AI check-in of sorts because a lot has changed in the artificial intelligence space since I last posted. I feel like AI tools have advanced really far in just a couple of years. It seems like so many people are on the AI bandwagon now, whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist. In my opinion, we’re not at the level of “Panic!” yet, but I’m seeing more videos being posted about things like AI job loss, AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), and the like.
Large Language Models (LLMs): A Leap Forward
The Large Language Models (LLMs), in particular, I feel are way better than they were the last time I used them for a post (about 2 years ago). I’m using AI (Gemini) in particular for this one) to edit and optimize this. The original text for this post, I didn’t type, it was transcribed using text-to-speech.
The Rise of Conversational AI
Conversational AI has gotten really good. I’m not even sure AI voice chat was readily available a few years ago. Now, most major players offer it, and it’s quite impressive. While premium features often require a paid tier, I’ve had great experiences with free versions as well. Gemini‘s free version is my go-to, and I also really like Pi.Ai (App required for voice chat) though it does have some processing time. And as of this post, Sesame AI has just released its latest model, which offers the most fluid conversational experience I’ve encountered.”
Generative AI: Expanding Creative Possibilities
In terms of generative AI, like AI video and AI images, the video especially feels like it’s gotten way better than it was just a couple of years ago. I understand why there is concern from people in artistic spaces. As someone who spent 20 years around acting, writing, and filmmaking in general, I could see a future where we all have access to something like an AI creation suite. And within that suite, you generate your characters, essentially a prompt version of what character creation is today. Then, you would either use a story you’ve written, or you can have AI generate your script for you and you can tweak it from there.
AI in Gaming: Personalized Experience
And this isn’t just for video content; this will be for video games as well. I could see a similar AI game creation suite, where you create your characters, you decide what type of game (i.e., an RPG, action shooter, whatever you want it to be). The game would generate a general script and be able to integrate AI NPCs around that. I could honestly see AI game experiences becoming a thing where a lot of people have similar templates, but everyone could have a different experience.
The Future of AI Content: A New Social Media?
With either of these, I could see some sort of posting platform as the new social media. So you would post your AI creations on the site and then you’d have people upvote if they play your game and they like it, watch your movie and they like it (I guess that’s what YouTube is now). Because I don’t think that all people will want to create necessarily, and that’s fine. But I think within the next 10 to 20 years, we’re going to see a lot of the friction in the creation process removed.
Robotics: Progress and Real-World Application
And the same goes for robotics. You look at what was available two to three years ago, and then you look at all the robots that have been popping up on YouTube lately, and it’s a lot more and they’re a lot better. Now, I don’t think that they’re close yet in terms of being able to replace all manual labor jobs, but they are closer than they were. I’m sure some people will disagree, but I haven’t really seen any robots out in the wild. I’ve seen one in a Sam’s Club and it was cleaning the floors. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve seen plenty of robot servers on YouTube, but I have not seen a single one in a restaurant, so nothing feels imminent.
Humanoid Robots: Still a Work in Progress
Staying on robotics, from what I’ve seen, the android partner is still pretty far away. Like, it hasn’t improved at the rate some of the other things have, in my opinion. I look at some of the humanoid robots that I’ve seen on YouTube and they still seem very much robotic and not human, mostly to do with movement, and also facial expressions… like the faces are not quite right. They’re definitely better, but they’re not at the level of something like Ex Machina yet.
Final Thoughts: Embracing the AI Revolution
Honestly, it’s been fascinating to watch these changes unfold. And I didn’t even get into the advancements in AI music generation! If that’s your thing, check out this post about AI music generation. I know a lot of people are concerned about the effect AI and robotics will have on our society, but I personally can’t wait until we reach a point where most jobs can be automated. What about you? What’s been the most surprising AI development you’ve seen lately?