Is The Artificial Intelligence 'Goldrush' Already Over?
The artificial intelligence ‘Goldrush’ seems to be in full swing. Major technology companies like Meta and Microsoft are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into AI projects; almost weekly. Just a few months into 2023 we see many social media platforms buzzing about the dawning of the age of AI. ChatGPT from openai.com was recently on the ancient 'Time' magazine cover, possibly a passing of the torch ceremony.
Today everyone at the office has now tried some form of AI service. The adoption of AI tech is not a hypothetical event anymore. Artificial Intelligence is now a very real force in our day-to-day life. Most people seem to agree that this new technology is going to change everything in the world. However, there still is no consensus on how exactly this change will occur.
Are the Doomsayers Right, is this Artificial Intelligence Technology Goldrush Already Over?
Historically gold rushes have stages they progress through. First, the gold is discovered! Then the word of this newly found gold spreads. As more people learn about the gold it attracts 'pie-eyed prospectors' to the area. Fresh faces looking to 'find' some valuable gold for themselves. This first wave of 'miners', are also collectively known as 'early adopters'; when discussing new technology adoption. As more and more new miners show up looking for a cut of the action they spread the information to even more new people. Once a significant number of fortune hunters is reached the phenomenon hits a critical mass of sorts, and it becomes a 'gold rush'.
Now as time passes in the newly minted mine town. Growing ranks of hopeful miners join in the search for valuable veins of gold. From experience we see that these new miners generally start searching for paydirt near the locations where other miners are already working successful 'claims'; in the business context this is called 'duplication'. This duplicating will occur wherever the market can support it, so things in a booming mine town can get pretty packed, pretty quickly. This sudden increase in local population incidentally creates the new auxiliary potential for businesses that helps to further fuel the 'boom'. This new business is created around serving the swelling groups of miners and their real-life logistical needs. The boom creates even more boom.
Big recent Events in AI:
--Openai current market valuation reached $29 billion, according to Semafor
--ChatGPT 4 may be Launching on March 16th
--Microsoft Adds AI to its service platforms en mass
--An unlikely wave of AI technology companies are massively propping up an otherwise sagging tech market.
The AI Gold Rush Mining Town has Been Firmly Established
I think it is safe to say that the AI gold rush mining town has been firmly established. Right now we are witnessing more complicated systems as well as more interconnected systems forming to support this AI boom. Companies that are leading the charge into uncharted AI territory such as Hugging Face have paired up with ex-Google AI research staff and are now directly experimenting with complicated multi-platform AI deployments for public consumption. Huggingface has a wide range of API offerings, as well as demos of cutting-edge open-source software like Stable Diffusion 2.1. Ai heavyweight Openai is poised to Launch ChatGPT4 possibly in less than a week, their brand new Large Language Model LLM.
It's hard to look around and see any serious signs of an Artificial Intelligence 'Bust', I think many machine learning insiders would agree with the assessment that we are currently in the early middle stage of this gold rush analogy. Which happens to be a great time to sell digital mules and cyber gold pan equivalents.
Making Hay While the Sun is Shining
As many of us already know, a classic gold rush story doesn't have a happy ending. The boom doesn't last forever. All over the web today many businesses are making money in new AI-related projects. Newly minted AI 'pundits' scramble to offer us online courses, and training seminars. They are a new collection of self-appointed experts who make bold claims about where this gold rush may be headed in the future. The objective business mind hears them and then asks the question 'does any expert know when the 'bust' times will come'? Let us have a look at some recent developments. Many people I've spoken with seem to intuitively know that the gold rush won't last forever. It's a fast-paced environment and wasted time is very much wasted money in this new field.
One cheeky thread poster on Facebook in a Chatgpt group pronounced the new AI markets are 'saturated'. My take on this post is straightforward. When there is a very large event with lineups, like a big sporting event or popular concert. Most people know already that you want to get there early. When Late comers arrive, sadly they discover that all the good parking spots are taken already. So in conclusion, if you haven't written and illustrated your own children's book or used AI to design 50 t-shirts for Esty already, then you might not see very much opportunity there now. All the obvious parking spaces are PACKED.
Complaining the Gold Strikes are Mostly Gone
At this point of the Artificial Intelligence boom, the digital hills are saturated with new mines so newcomers are complaining the gold strikes are mostly gone. But don't despair if you're looking to make your fortune in AI, there are still lots of opportunities for the little guys, you just need to adapt more quickly today than in 1849. much like a gold rush town, there is lots of money in the business of selling 'mining equipment' to the swarms of new miners. There is money in building new businesses to accommodate the surge in numbers of 'miners'. There will likely continue to be money in a related business for a very long time to come. Maybe the easiest nuggets to find have been collected, but there is still a lot of gold in these hills.
Leading The Charge Into Uncharted AI Territory
The AI gold rush is in full swing with companies like Hugging Face and Openai leading the charge into uncharted AI territory. The industry is witnessing more complicated and interconnected systems forming to support this AI boom. However, as with any gold rush, there will be a time when the boom will come to an end. While many self-appointed experts make bold claims about where the industry is headed, it's hard to predict when the 'bust' times will come.
Nevertheless, there are still plenty of opportunities for the little guys in this artificial intelligence ‘Goldrush’, but they will need to adapt more quickly than in the past. As with any gold rush town, there is lots of money in the business of selling 'mining equipment' to the swarms of new miners, and there will likely continue to be money in AI-related businesses for a very long time to come. Therefore, it's important to make hay while the sun is shining by taking advantage of the opportunities available now.
AI Can Be a Powerful Catalyst in Your Current Job
This may be a choice place to insert some old wisdom into the discussion. I suggest that you consider adding good old-fashioned human creativity to your AI solutions. We scrappy humans still have an edge in this arena that we can utilize. If you are open to experimenting you may discover that AI can be a powerful catalyst in your current job.
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