'Where is the Finish Line?'
Good Afternoon,
Fellow Readers and Authors.
I do hope you have all had an industrious week.
Following up on my article of last week, ‘Supporting Fellow Writers and Poets’, I am pleased to report that Ross Mitchell, has received a huge amount of encouragement in his quest.
His posts on Linkedin in particular, have been well received, with thousands of impressions, and messages of good luck. He has been inundated with calls, and emails from various cancer charities, and has certainly made his mark on social media.
We wish him good luck, moving forward, and our on-going support, in his endeavour to fund these worthy charities from the proceeds of his poetry book, ‘Darkness, Light, and a Sprinkle of Everything in between: An anthology of poems by Ross Mitchell.
5 Star Ratings - Amazon Link https://amzn.eu/d/j6ggK0I
Reflecting back upon the rest of this week, however, is another matter. I am personally disappointed with the latest news on social media platforms. It appears that the world of AI has descended into the realms of squabbling, accusations, and finger pointing, the likes of which, leave me questioning the very concept of artificial intelligence, and the people who are promoting it.
The media talks of ‘the race for AI,’ as if it’s something new. The concept of AI has been around since the fifties. So effectively, a large proportion of us didn’t hear the starting pistol.
AI has been developing for decades, and has gained momentum without a doubt.
My concerns though, are quiet simple. Where is the finish line, and what is in it for the average man and woman, who are clearly not going to benefit as will those who are fuelling AI’s growth. As for the race, well lets take a brief look.
The AI Race: Who Started It, Where It’s Going, and Why It Matters
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries, economies, and even daily life at an unprecedented pace. Companies and governments around the world are investing billions into AI research, sparking what many call "the AI race." But how did this race begin? Where is it headed? And why is AI generating so much hype?
Who Started the AI Race?
The AI race has roots in both academia and industry, dating back decades. Early AI research in the 1950s and 1960s laid the groundwork for what we see today, but the modern AI race truly took off in the 2010s with breakthroughs in deep learning.
Some key moments in AI’s acceleration include:
• 2012: Geoffrey Hinton’s team revolutionized AI with deep learning at the ImageNet competition, proving neural networks could outperform traditional algorithms.
• 2015: OpenAI was founded, backed by tech leaders like Elon Musk and Sam Altman, with a mission to develop safe and powerful AI.
• 2017: Google researchers introduced the transformer architecture (the "T" in GPT), enabling massive improvements in natural language processing.
• 2022: OpenAI’s ChatGPT exploded in popularity, demonstrating AI’s potential to the general public and triggering a new wave of competition.
While companies like Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, and Anthropic lead AI development in the West, China’s AI firms, including DeepSeek and Baidu, are also pushing forward.
Governments are now treating AI as a strategic asset, making it not just a technological competition but a geopolitical one.
Where Does the AI Race End?
The short answer: it doesn’t—at least not anytime soon. AI is evolving rapidly, and there’s no clear finish line. However, there are several possible milestones that could define different phases of the race:
1. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): Many researchers believe the race will continue until we develop AGI, an AI system with human-level reasoning and adaptability. OpenAI, DeepMind, and other labs are working toward this goal, though timelines are uncertain.
2. Regulation and Ethical AI: If AI capabilities advance too quickly, governments may enforce strict regulations, slowing the race. Already, the EU and U.S. are discussing AI laws to ensure safety and fairness.
3. Economic Saturation: AI development may plateau if diminishing returns set in—where further advancements require exponentially more data and computing power with less real-world benefit.
Why Are We in This AI Race?
The AI race is driven by a mix of economic, scientific, and political factors:
• Economic Growth: AI is expected to contribute trillions of dollars to global GDP by automating tasks, improving efficiency, and creating new industries.
• National Security: Governments see AI as critical to military strategy, cybersecurity, and intelligence gathering, making it a national priority.
• Scientific Discovery: AI accelerates breakthroughs in medicine, physics, and engineering, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.
• Corporate Competition: Tech giants are investing in AI to stay ahead, with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta leading the charge.
Why So Much Hype?
AI’s hype stems from its rapid advancements and transformative potential. Unlike past technological revolutions, AI is evolving in real-time, with each new model pushing boundaries. People see AI as a tool that can write, code, diagnose diseases, and even create art—things once thought to be uniquely human.
But with the excitement also comes fear: Will AI replace jobs? Will it be used unethically? Could it become uncontrollable? These unanswered questions fuel both optimism and anxiety, ensuring that AI remains a dominant topic for years to come.
I will leave to you to ponder your own views, opinions and possibly fears, regarding this phenomenon that is clearly going to be a topic for a long time to come.
In the meantime, may I offer our sincere thanks once again, to those of you adding one of the ‘Our Blue Orange’ series to your bookshelves over the week.
Thank you for your support, it is much appreciated.
Link - https://tinyurl.com/ms57anj5
Stay safe, and keep reading and writing, and most of all, follow your dreams whatever they may be. 😊
Best Wishes
AR
Fellow Readers and Authors.
I do hope you have all had an industrious week.
Following up on my article of last week, ‘Supporting Fellow Writers and Poets’, I am pleased to report that Ross Mitchell, has received a huge amount of encouragement in his quest.
His posts on Linkedin in particular, have been well received, with thousands of impressions, and messages of good luck. He has been inundated with calls, and emails from various cancer charities, and has certainly made his mark on social media.
We wish him good luck, moving forward, and our on-going support, in his endeavour to fund these worthy charities from the proceeds of his poetry book, ‘Darkness, Light, and a Sprinkle of Everything in between: An anthology of poems by Ross Mitchell.
5 Star Ratings - Amazon Link https://amzn.eu/d/j6ggK0I
Reflecting back upon the rest of this week, however, is another matter. I am personally disappointed with the latest news on social media platforms. It appears that the world of AI has descended into the realms of squabbling, accusations, and finger pointing, the likes of which, leave me questioning the very concept of artificial intelligence, and the people who are promoting it.
The media talks of ‘the race for AI,’ as if it’s something new. The concept of AI has been around since the fifties. So effectively, a large proportion of us didn’t hear the starting pistol.
AI has been developing for decades, and has gained momentum without a doubt.
My concerns though, are quiet simple. Where is the finish line, and what is in it for the average man and woman, who are clearly not going to benefit as will those who are fuelling AI’s growth. As for the race, well lets take a brief look.
The AI Race: Who Started It, Where It’s Going, and Why It Matters
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries, economies, and even daily life at an unprecedented pace. Companies and governments around the world are investing billions into AI research, sparking what many call "the AI race." But how did this race begin? Where is it headed? And why is AI generating so much hype?
Who Started the AI Race?
The AI race has roots in both academia and industry, dating back decades. Early AI research in the 1950s and 1960s laid the groundwork for what we see today, but the modern AI race truly took off in the 2010s with breakthroughs in deep learning.
Some key moments in AI’s acceleration include:
• 2012: Geoffrey Hinton’s team revolutionized AI with deep learning at the ImageNet competition, proving neural networks could outperform traditional algorithms.
• 2015: OpenAI was founded, backed by tech leaders like Elon Musk and Sam Altman, with a mission to develop safe and powerful AI.
• 2017: Google researchers introduced the transformer architecture (the "T" in GPT), enabling massive improvements in natural language processing.
• 2022: OpenAI’s ChatGPT exploded in popularity, demonstrating AI’s potential to the general public and triggering a new wave of competition.
While companies like Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, and Anthropic lead AI development in the West, China’s AI firms, including DeepSeek and Baidu, are also pushing forward.
Governments are now treating AI as a strategic asset, making it not just a technological competition but a geopolitical one.
Where Does the AI Race End?
The short answer: it doesn’t—at least not anytime soon. AI is evolving rapidly, and there’s no clear finish line. However, there are several possible milestones that could define different phases of the race:
1. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): Many researchers believe the race will continue until we develop AGI, an AI system with human-level reasoning and adaptability. OpenAI, DeepMind, and other labs are working toward this goal, though timelines are uncertain.
2. Regulation and Ethical AI: If AI capabilities advance too quickly, governments may enforce strict regulations, slowing the race. Already, the EU and U.S. are discussing AI laws to ensure safety and fairness.
3. Economic Saturation: AI development may plateau if diminishing returns set in—where further advancements require exponentially more data and computing power with less real-world benefit.
Why Are We in This AI Race?
The AI race is driven by a mix of economic, scientific, and political factors:
• Economic Growth: AI is expected to contribute trillions of dollars to global GDP by automating tasks, improving efficiency, and creating new industries.
• National Security: Governments see AI as critical to military strategy, cybersecurity, and intelligence gathering, making it a national priority.
• Scientific Discovery: AI accelerates breakthroughs in medicine, physics, and engineering, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.
• Corporate Competition: Tech giants are investing in AI to stay ahead, with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta leading the charge.
Why So Much Hype?
AI’s hype stems from its rapid advancements and transformative potential. Unlike past technological revolutions, AI is evolving in real-time, with each new model pushing boundaries. People see AI as a tool that can write, code, diagnose diseases, and even create art—things once thought to be uniquely human.
But with the excitement also comes fear: Will AI replace jobs? Will it be used unethically? Could it become uncontrollable? These unanswered questions fuel both optimism and anxiety, ensuring that AI remains a dominant topic for years to come.
I will leave to you to ponder your own views, opinions and possibly fears, regarding this phenomenon that is clearly going to be a topic for a long time to come.
In the meantime, may I offer our sincere thanks once again, to those of you adding one of the ‘Our Blue Orange’ series to your bookshelves over the week.
Thank you for your support, it is much appreciated.
Link - https://tinyurl.com/ms57anj5
Stay safe, and keep reading and writing, and most of all, follow your dreams whatever they may be. 😊
Best Wishes
AR
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