Davos, Switzerland
CNN
—
Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of online learning service provider Coursera, says that when he first tried ChatGPT, he was dumbfounded. Now, it’s part of his daily routine.
He uses the powerful new AI chatbot engine to send emails. He uses it to create speeches “with a friendly, upbeat, authoritative tone with a mixed rhythm.” He’s even used it to help solve big strategic questions—such as how Coursera should approach incorporating artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT into its platform.
“I use it as a writing assistant and as a thought partner,” Maggioncalda told CNN.
Maggioncalda is one of thousands of business leaders, politicians and academics gathered in Davos, Switzerland World Economic Forum this week. On the agenda is a host of pressing issues weighing on the global economy, from the energy crisis to the war in Ukraine and the trade transition. But what many people can’t stop talking about is ChatGPT.
The tool, which artificial intelligence research firm OpenAI made available to the public late last year, has sparked conversations about how “creative AI” services — can turn prompts into essays. , stories, songs, and original images—after training on massive online datasets—can completely change the way we live and work.
Some claim it will bring in artists, tutors, programmers and writers (yes, even journalists) unemployment. Others are more optimistic, arguing that it will allow employees to tackle to-do lists with greater efficiency or focus on higher-level tasks.
It’s a debate that has captivated many C-suite leaders, often after they’ve tested the tool for themselves.
Christian Lanng, CEO of digital supply chain platform Tradeshift, said he was overwhelmed by the possibilities presented by ChatGPT, even after years of exposure to Silicon Valley hype.
He has also used the platform to write emails and claims that no one has noticed a difference. He even asked it to do some accounting work, a service for which Tradeshift currently hires an expensive professional services firm.
So far, ChatGPT has mostly been seen as a curiosity and a harbinger of what’s to come. It is based on OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 language model, which is obsolete; A more advanced version of GPT-4 is in development and could be released this year.
Critics — of which there are many — are quick to point out that it is erroneous, painfully neutral, and glaringly lacking in human empathy. For example, a technology news publication is forced to publish some important adjustments for an article written by ChatGPT. And New York City public schools have Students and teachers are prohibited from its use.
However, software or similar programs from competitors could soon take the business world by storm.
Microsoft
(MSFT), an investor in OpenAI, announced this week that the company’s tools — including GPT-3.5, the Codex programming assistant, and the DALL-E 2 imager — are now widely available to users. enterprise customers in a plan named Azure OpenAI Services. ChatGPT will be added soon.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told an audience at Davos this week: “I see these technologies acting as a co-driver, helping people do more for less.
Maggioncalda has a similar view. He wants to integrate general AI into Coursera’s offering this year, seeing an opportunity to make learning more interactive for students who don’t have access to face-to-face instruction in the classroom or face-to-face with students. subject experts.
He acknowledges that challenges such as preventing fraud and ensuring accuracy need to be addressed. And he worries that the increased use of AI might not be entirely good for society — people could become less flexible thinkers, for example, because the act of writing can useful for processing complex ideas and hone in on lessons learned.
However, he found it necessary to move quickly.
“Anyone who doesn’t use this will soon be at a serious disadvantage. Like, shortly. Like, very soon,” Maggioncalda said. “I was just thinking about my cognitive abilities with this tool. Compared to before, it is much higher, my efficiency and productivity are also much higher.”
