As technology advances, many of us find ourselves in a constant state of anxiety. Large language models (LLM) and the idea of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has caused an even greater level of unease, as we imagine the technological wave that these tools could bring. ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Bard are some of the current tools seen as responsible for this potential. However, it is important to keep in mind that while these AI-driven tools do create impressive outcomes, their implementation is limited by the knowledge and context of the operator.
Nathan Hamiel recently penned an essay on ModernCISO.com (which was later discussed on ZDzone) that makes this point better than we can. In his article, it is shown that while these tools can do impressive things, it often takes a lot of tries and examinations to get results, unless specific directions are provided. To put things in perspective, this phenomenon can be compared to the invention of the calculator (which was also met with similar anxiety). While it was a revolutionary invention, a calculator on its own would be useless without a knowledgeable operator that understands both the subject and the desired outcome.
As engineers, developers, designers, and creative people the challenge for us is to apply this new tool to its best effect, translating from our context into the context in which the tool is most likely to yield useful results. In other words, it is people that continue to have the most impact on products and technology, not machines. By building up our context with knowledge and staying mindful of the tool’s limitations, we can help set up products for the future success and implementation.
As for LeadDev NYC, this is a popular conference for engineering and product leaders to discuss the latest processes, frameworks, and tools in the software industry. Take a look at the recorded talks from their website to learn more about the ways engineering and product leaders are taking part in the technology of tomorrow. Likewise, the speaker mentioned in the article (Nathan Hamiel) is a product expert known for his expertise in trends regarding software engineering.
