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AI is getting freakishly smart
AI spent decades learning. Now it’s maturing and scaling—some say, too fast.
We’ve entered an era of self-supervising AI that feeds on synthetic data and blows the minds of its own creators. Researchers at Googled-owned tech lab DeepMind say their recently released AlphaTensor system is “surpassing the realm of human intuition” by discovering algorithms on its own.
Many are having trouble telling a computer from an actual human—the classic Turing test of the 1950s—which in itself tells us something. A Google employee was suspended earlier this year after publicly claiming the company’s LaMDA project had become eerily human, adding to a growing chorus of technologists who believe AI models are getting ever so close to achieving consciousness.
Stanford researchers call advancements in foundational machine learning models like GPT-3 and Radford a “paradigm shift.” Many say singularity may not be as far away as the masses think.
Others aren’t as convinced AI is quite there. It’s an open question whether AI can think in the abstract, or feel emotions, or be truly self-aware.
But is it all good?
There are disagreements on what all of these terms actually mean and how far exactly AI has progressed. But plenty of people are freaked out.
As the balance between human and AI is recalibrated, leaders worry openly about the implications of “bad AI,” like faulty facial recognition, biased algorithms, and AI-powered deep fakes.
So, we decided to go right to the source and ask how worried we should be.
Our interview with GPT-3: Singularity ‘only a matter of time’
Here is an interview with GPT-3, one of the most advanced AI systems ever conceived, which has read just about every book ever written and the entire contents of Wikipedia and more. We asked it about its thoughts on the current progress of AI and where things are headed. (Editor’s note: Question prompts and answers were edited for clarity and brevity.)
Q: Can AI achieve consciousness?
GPT-3: “There is no clear answer as to whether or not artificial intelligence is capable of consciousness. However, as artificial intelligence continues to evolve, it is possible that it could eventually become more conscious.”
Q: Is AI sentient?
GPT-3: “If sentience requires self-awareness, then AI is not currently sentient, as AI does not have self-awareness. However, if sentience does not require self-awareness, then AI could be sentient.”
Q: How scared should humans be of AI’s advancement?
GPT-3: “It is important to remember that GPT-3 is just a tool. It is not sentient and it cannot think for itself. It can only do what it is programmed to do. As such, the real danger lies in the hands of those who would misuse GPT-3 for nefarious purposes.”
Q: Have we reached singularity?
GPT-3: “There are still many tasks that humans can do which machines cannot, such as reasoning and common sense. One limitation of GPT-3 is that it does not yet support bidirectional context, so it cannot be used for tasks such as machine translation where the context is important in both directions.”
Q: Will AI ever surpass human intelligence?
GPT-3: “There is no denying that machines are becoming increasingly intelligent, and it seems only a matter of time before they surpass us.”
Which raises an interesting question: Who, exactly, is “us”?
Company feature: why we're excited about Syrup Tech
Inventory planning startup Syrup Tech has a straightforward mission: to stop waste from hitting landfills. It’s among a new breed of AI–powered predictive SaaS tools aimed at making enterprises more efficient and less wasteful.
Syrup Tech arms companies with predictive software to decide what items to stock and when by analyzing a mix of internal (like inventory and sales) and outside data (like social media trends and weather predictions). By dialing in inventory management, companies can prevent losses and waste.
The company has offices in New York, San Francisco, and New York City and raised $6.3M seed round in July from Google’s AI fund (Gradient Ventures) and former executives of Adidas, Reebok, Bonobos, Salesforce, and Stripe. Syrup Tech also offers benefits top talent will love, including unlimited PTO, remote flex schedules with annual company off-sites, health and dental coverage, and equity for all employees.
Trending in tech
Growth hacking is recession proof
Despite challenging times for many sectors, marketers remain in high demand.
The field is expected to add 10% more jobs by 2030. Part of this growth is due to the need for more specialized forms of marketing to tackle the problems a company might face.
When a company is explicitly focused on rapid growth, they turn to growth hackers for the expertise to make this happen. As strategies for sustainable growth continue to evolve, roles for growth hacking continue to rise.
See our list: 5 Hot Companies Hiring Growth Hackers
Tech for self-help & self-taught skills
Technological and cultural shifts have led workers to take it upon themselves to seek out personal growth and new opportunities. It’s fitting, that companies are capitalizing on this trend of personal development by creating services dedicated to helping people become the best versions of themselves.
More than half of the workforce says that more professional development would help them in their current roles. The self-improvement industry is expected to grow from $41B in 2022 to over $67B by 2030.
📃 Check out our list: Hiring: 5 Tech Companies Modernizing
See our list: Hiring: 5 Tech Companies Modernizing Self-Taught Skills
Weight off your shoulders
Living is getting more expensive. Millions of Americans feel the crushing weight of student debt and deteriorating credit scores. But luckily, startups are tackling these issues head-on, helping a diverse array of people in the process.
Fintechs are popping up to remove the burden of medical needs by offering monthly payment plans. And education is another area being made more accessible by startups. Companies are enabling students to find the best methods to lower their bills and pay off student debt.
In the news
- San Francisco, Calif.-based TeamOhana, a headcount management platform, raised a $4M seed round led by Sierra Ventures. The platform enables teams to collaborate and execute hiring plans while providing real-time analytics.
- Vancouver, Canada-based Spexi, a software company for aerial image collection via drones, raised a $5.5M seed round led by Blockchange Ventures. Spexi’s software enables organizations to plan autonomous drone flights, task drone pilots, and process aerial imagery.
- San Francisco, Calif.-based Iconic Air, a SaaS platform for commercial carbon footprint management, raised a $5M seed round led by XYZ Venture Capital. The company enables players in energy-intensive industries to calculate, visualize, and report emissions data.
- Calgary, Canada-based Ownly, an e-commerce for proptech platform, raised a $2.5M seed round led by Bluesky Equities. Ownly’s platform allows customers to shop, pre-qualify, finance, and buy new homes online.
- San Francisco, Calif.-based Tumble, a smart laundry platform, raised a $7M seed round led by Hivers and Strivers. The company’s platform offers an all-digital experience from cashless payment to cycle tracking and machine security.
Hot startups hiring now