Council Post: The Revolutionary Nature of ChatGPT Beyond Your Expectations

Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been part of our lives, but it has always existed behind the scenes, enabling and smoothing out the things we interact with on a daily basis. But with the advent of ChatGPT, the world’s first AI tool that you can engage with directly, the playing field has changed. While the technological advancements in AI occurred years before ChatGPT existed, it is the democracy of this tool that makes it revolutionary. ChatGPT allows people to use AI freely and in different ways, helping them to develop ideas and prompts to feed other AI tools. This tool has been used by researchers, students, educators, executives, and managers, as well as their assistants. Its accessibility is just as important as its technical sophistication. The White House announced a blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights last year citing privacy, racial discrimination, job loss, and other issues. While these problems are rooted in what AI can do, it is who controls it that is the real issue. AI is a net positive for society in the long run because everybody can use it to enhance their own lives. The breakthrough of ChatGPT isn’t technical – it’s democratic, and it shows us that the real reason we care about AI isn’t just because of how good it is but how good it is for us.