Today, November 30, 2023, mark’s the first anniversary of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In the last year, the AI chatbot has secured support from major Silicon Valley companies and seen integration across various fields including academia, the arts, marketing, medicine, gaming, and government.
It’s clear that generative AI has helped define the past year. Starting with ChatGPT, genAI is proving to be a crucially useful technology that will continue to be ubiquitously embedded in applications. Between July and September 2023, the number of enterprises that are in the experimentation and expansion stages of implementing genAI jumped from an already impressive 62% to 71%, according to Forrester data. This represents one of the fastest mass adoption rates of a technology in the enterprise that we’ve ever seen.
These are exciting times, so we decided to put together this round-up of commentaries from around the big data ecosystem. Enjoy!
What’s next for ChatGPT? Commentary by Vanessa Mullin, Director of Games, Metaverse and Social at Agora
“As we head into 2024, ChatGPT has tremendous room to evolve into a more sophisticated, versatile, and interactive AI. With models becoming significantly more advanced and nuanced, ChatGPT may soon offer conversations that closely mirror human dialogue. The ability to understand context and maintain back-and-forth dialogues will enable more meaningful and productive conversations. This means that ChatGPT could provide more precise answers, comprehend complex queries better, and offer solutions that are contextually relevant.
Integrating voice and video interactions with AI models like ChatGPT could also enhance user experiences. Imagine an AI avatar that not only understands your queries but responds via video or voice, providing a more personal and engaging interaction. This would significantly improve applications and their ability to generate complex multimedia content, including imagery, 3D renderings, and videos, unlocking new creative avenues. The potential for interactive content creation also suggests exciting possibilities in storytelling, gaming, and online education.
Similarly, exploring how generative AI, like ChatGPT, can complement VR and hints at the potential for more immersive and dynamic virtual environments. AI could be used to rapidly develop complex characters, narratives, and settings, enhancing the richness and depth of virtual experiences and gaming adventures. The future of ChatGPT is not just about incremental improvements but a transformational shift in AI capabilities and applications. This evolution will not only redefine how we interact with AI but also expand the realms of what’s possible in creativity, productivity, and personalized digital experiences.”
Impacts of GenAI. Commentary by Forrester Senior Analyst Rowan Curran
“It’s no longer just a question of ‘What will generative AI do?’, it’s become a question of ‘What is generative AI doing?’. A year ago, we had the spark of a technology revolution and how we interact with it, and today that fire is being fueled by an ever-expanding array of companies that are transforming the way their employees and customers interact with software, and with the world. From search engines to market research platforms, to customer service, to social media, and to digital design and content creation — genAI’s impact is already pervading across technology categories.
GenAI’s hyperadoption from millions of users is driven by its ease of use and immediate ability to help solve real problems. As a result, this year hasn’t been a story of genAI hype, but rather of hammering and honing genAI into shape.”
Impacts of GenAI. Commentary by Forrester Senior Analyst Allie Mellen
“Despite the attention around genAI as an enabler for less skilled teams, generative AI will actually be most beneficial for practitioners with experience. Given the nature of hallucinations and incorrect responses, genAI functions best as a tool to be validated and then leveraged — not trusted outright. Those with the most experience will be able to qualify and execute based on the results faster and will see the most gains because of it.
In Forrester’s latest AI pulse survey, AI decision-makers believe that the IT department will get the most value out of generative AI — more so than any other department by 14 percentage points. Generative AI will fundamentally change the way security and IT teams do their work.”
Reflections on the one-year anniversary of ChatGPT and the GenAI craze. Commentary by Chris Denbigh-White, CSO, Next DLP
“Since ChatGPT entered the public’s consciousness, it has been cited as both a dream for employees and a nightmare for organizations that are trying to protect sensitive data. For example, while it might be fine for a marketing executive to jazz up a LinkedIn post, the same cannot be said for a CFO putting poor quarterly results through ChatGPT and sugarcoating bad performance. Understanding these data flows and not losing control of what data to input is a line that has still not been found for many companies.
One of the biggest conversations has been around ChatGPT swallowing up jobs and leaving a vast proportion of the population unemployed. I find this fanciful. In the same way that calligraphy experts in the 19th century lamented the printing press as print didn’t have the ability to create beautiful characters, Large Language Models (LLMs) – the foundation of ChatGPT – will be embraced sooner or later. People will learn to repurpose their current skill set to complement LLMs and find opportunities to work alongside this technology very quickly.
The question is: do we trust LLMs? Just like the friend in the pub quiz who is totally convinced of an answer even though there’s no guarantee he’s right, LLMs are still a black box – and the regulation that surrounds it is still a bone of contention and unlikely to be solved anytime soon. This is particularly tricky if you’re using these models for industries such as healthcare and patient prioritization, as errors like these can have wide-ranging consequences. For cyber security professionals, it’s essential to collaborate closer on AI and LLMs and adopt a repeatable framework across the board.”
Reflections on the one-year anniversary of ChatGPT and the GenAI craze. Commentary by Matt Rider, VP of Security Engineering EMEA at Exabeam
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the buzzword of 2023 – indeed, it was awarded the Collins ‘word of the year’ for 2023 – but as a term, it’s incredibly broad and often misused or misinterpreted. ‘True’ AI doesn’t exist. At the moment, there is certainly some level of intelligence (small ‘i’) to be found in ‘AI-powered’ technologies, but there is certainly no sentience there. It’s also not a new innovation – machine learning has been in use since the 1950s. However, due to the widespread availability of Generative AI powered by large language models (LLMs), the phrase ‘AI’ is back with a vengeance and it seems every enterprise has embraced it and the software vendor’s solution is powered by it.
Chat-GPT and its Generative AI counterparts have been the truly innovative ‘AI’ development to have occurred over the last year. We no longer need to carefully structure our data, we can simply chuck a load of information at Chat-GPT without much thought and still gain value from the output. Instead of carefully researching a topic on Google for hours, constructing search-engine-friendly queries, and flipping through numerous websites, we now only need to type one question into a Generative AI-powered chatbot and it seems to finally understand us.
However, while generative AI-powered LLMs are making life easier in numerous ways, we need to be acutely aware of their limitations. For a start, they’re not accurate: GPT-4 Turbo has the most up-to-date data since its inception, but still only contains world knowledge up to April 2023. These systems also hallucinate and have a clear tendency to deliver biased responses. In fact, numerous reports have demonstrated these tools’ ability to be sexist, racist, or just generally discriminatory. Rubbish in, rubbish out.
These limitations are not unique to generative AI-powered LLMs, though. Gaining inaccurate or biased knowledge is a risk we all take simply skimming through Google or Wikipedia. However, the real concern with Chat-GPT is the way these LLMs are presented. They give a ‘human-like’ interaction which inclines us to trust them more than we should. To stay safe navigating these models, we need to be much more skeptical of the data we are given. Employees need in-depth training to keep them up to date with the security risks posed by generative AI and what its limitations are.”
Reflections on the one-year anniversary of ChatGPT and the GenAI craze. Commentary by Joel Martins, CTO at Calabrio
“As we mark the first anniversary of the introduction of ChatGPT, it’s a suitable moment to reflect on the transformative impact AI technology continues to have throughout the customer service industry. Over the past year, ChatGPT has proven to be more than just a tool; it’s a catalyst for Large Language Model (LLM) integration, offering new possibilities across industries.
Earlier in 2023, ChatGPT and GPT-3 were integrated into innovative technologies to tremendously streamline contact center operations. LLM integration can bring more automated agent workflows with useful analytics, allowing agents to focus on customer experiences. The potential for AI in contact centers will continue to amplify the agent experience and deliver strategic customer support.
As we look forward, the next phase of AI holds even more promise. Companies should remain committed to utilizing this technology to empower their clients with the best contact center experience to delight their customers and drive innovation.”
Reflections on the one-year anniversary of ChatGPT and the GenAI craze. Commentary by Chris Dickens, Sr Solutions Engineer at HackerOne
“Since ChatGPT broke into the public domain last year, we’ve heard of it dissecting malware, understanding complex security breaches, and enhancing threat intelligence. Recent Machine Learning and AI capabilities have played a crucial role in predicting cyber threats based on emerging patterns and past incidents. Moreover, ChatGPT has contributed to cybersecurity training and awareness programs, providing personnel with practical experiences through simulated attacks.
There is a constant battle between organizations that rely on Generative AI use cases to safeguard their security systems and the threat actors that use it to conduct even more sophisticated and prevalent ransomware and phishing campaigns. However, in the hands of ethical hackers, looking at an outsider mindset and an understanding of how GenAI can be exploited, it has also become a powerful tool for them to seek out vulnerabilities and protect organizations at even more speed and scale. HackerOne’s latest Hacker-Powered Security Report highlighted that 53% of hackers use GenAI in some way, with 61% of hackers looking to use and develop hacking tools from GenAI to find more vulnerabilities in 2024.
We can therefore expect even greater applications of ChatGPT in cybersecurity strategies, reinforcing the fact that a successful cybersecurity program isn’t about replacing human ingenuity with AI, but augmenting it.”
Happy Birthday ChatGPT! Commentary by Skip Levens, Product, Media & Entertainment, Quantum
“This is the year that everyone will remember for the arrival of a potentially world-changing technology – yet with all the excitement, we should also remember that these are tools that are only as good as the data that goes into their training – and how they are used in the hands of creatives. Out of the box, these tools are not infallible, and you shouldn’t treat them as such.
Organizations need not only an economical way to store their unstructured data and content, but they also need tools to analyze, catalogue, and tag that data to enable AI to make the best use of it to build and tune custom tools tailored to their specific content. Organizations that carefully curate their content and data will be best positioned to make the most of these tools to build radically productive tools that will help them outstrip their competitors. Decades of digitization and large collections will have the largest ‘payoff’ – formerly static, lightly trafficked content can suddenly come to life and easily find new audiences and applications. Ultimately, data is today’s most valuable asset – preserve it and curate it, and you will reap the benefits for years to come.”
Do other chatbots stand a chance against OpenAI? Commentary by Jamie Moles, Senior Sales Engineer at ExtraHop
“In the year since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was publicly released, generative AI has taken the world by storm, proving its ability to enhance many different aspects of business operations. As such, new customer data from ExtraHop found that the majority of enterprises have quickly adopted these technologies. ChatGPT has overwhelmingly taken the lead, showing clear dominance over other services like GitHub Copilot, Google Bard, and Azure OpenAI.
Interestingly, while only 12% of customer devices are connecting to GitHub Copilot, our data indicates that it accounts for 30% of total outbound traffic to generative AI services. As reference, nearly 80% of customers are connecting to OpenAI, but ChatGPT is only accounting for two-thirds of the outbound traffic. The smaller base of Copilot users are clearly uploading far more data than their OpenAI counterparts and this may indicate that Copilot usage is on the up – especially among a far smaller user base.
The increasing usage of this new technology offers exciting opportunities for businesses to grow and flourish; however, it is important that organizations incorporate safeguards to ensure these tools are being utilized properly. If you or your employees are implementing generative AI at work, consider offering trainings on safe usage, or incorporating technology that monitors the use of generative AI across your network. The loss of IP and data privacy risks continue to be a concern for businesses, and decision-makers should keep these challenges in mind as they further reap the benefits of these services in the future.”
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