Generative AI in 2024: Pros and Cons

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI technology uses machine learning models to generate text, images, audio, or other creative works. It depends on the massive dataset to understand the basic structures and patterns. At present, it can generate various pieces of unique content like poems, codes, scripts, emails, letters, articles, paintings, portraits, designs, logos, vocals, voiceovers, deepfakes, synthetic clips, etc.

The Evolution So Far

This concept may look modern. But its first concept was thought of during the 1940s with the name of ‘Machine Intelligence’. A popular mathematician named Alen Turing mentioned intelligent machinery in 1947. In 1956, a group of linguistics, philosophers, and computer scientists came together at the Dartmouth Summer Research Project Workshop to introduce Artificial Intelligence.

The technology kept improving over the years. John McCarthy developed the LISP Programming Language to perform artificial intelligence tasks. A scientist named Joseph Weizenbaum launched the ELIZA chatbot in 1961. Then Dendral became the first AI expert system and succeeded in 1973.

The tech kept growing gradually over the decades. For example, the MYCIN software was developed for diagnosing dangerous bacteria. But the decades of the 70s and 80s weren’t much friendly for generative AI. Its invention was about to decline due to a lack of funds. But in the 90s and 2000s, it gained momentum. We saw a chess computer system defeating the world chess champion in 1997.

[Source: https://toloka.ai/blog/history-of-generative-ai/]

Generative AI in 2024

The high computing power helped AI grow substantially after the 2000s. Then Deep Learning took charge in 2010, which is powering most of the modern generative AI tools. It has become the topic of discussion after the surprise introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022.

In 2023, we saw DALL-E 3 helping us generate images through AI. However, it has some limitations, it has been useful for many creators to have references. Apart from text and image generation, Microsoft’s AI tools can plan our trips, assist us while cooking, and help us with fitness programs and wellness tips.

In October 2023, Google came up with an entirely new concept of smartphones with inbuilt Google generative AI Features. The same was followed by Samsung in January 2024 with its S24 series.

At present, some smartphones are capable of erasing or moving objects from pictures, changing facial expressions, removing noise from background audio, creating audio recording summaries, creating unique wallpapers, searching quickly from the image, translating incoming texts, automatically filling the background after zooming out, and summarizing articles across the web.

This is just a beginning, we can expect more surprising advancements this year. We can witness 10x more creators using AI tools for their content. The development of new AI-powered tools can be 50% faster, and we can expect global software companies to develop and promote AI-powered tools more aggressively by the end of 2024.

Just like Adobe Photoshop allows designers to generate images based on instructions, 75% more designing tools may offer inbuilt image generation features. AI-generated images having human subjects are expected to have 90% accuracy soon.

[Also Read: AI for Business: Hype vs. Reality in 2024]

Pros

• Potential increase in the sales of AI-generated artworks by 300%.
• 20% of music streaming might be powered by AI-composed tracks.
• Introduction of new coaching centers offering generative AI courses.
• Reduced marketing copywriting time.
• Increased customer satisfaction with the help of AI chatbots.
• Personalization of AI-generated ad content.

Cons

• Generative AI delivers the output based on instructions, it cannot guarantee the accuracy of the provided information.
• AI-powered deepfake videos may cause identity theft, misinformation, propaganda, cyberbullying, and harassment.
• 70% of AI-generated content lacks ownership details.
• 5% of creative jobs may get automated by the next year.
• AI-generated text may show a gender bias.

Conclusion

Generative AI has evolved as a powerful reality in 2024, which was once a dream. It can definitely reduce the time taken to finish our daily professional tasks. Its potential to reduce human efforts and errors is undeniable. But at a few compromises. Strict laws over misuse of deepfake videos, clarity on ownership details, introducing new revenue streams in the future, and fixing the reported gender bias may let everyone admire generative AI.