Serendipity35

Even some less-tech people have been experimenting with chatbots now that they are embedded in Google Gemini Apple and Microsoft CoPilot sites. A few of my less-tech friends have asked me what a term means concerning AI chatbots. Of course, they could easily ask a chatbot to define any chatbot terms, but it is useful to have a glossary.

I have had friends tell me that they have had some interesting "conversations" with machines. "They almost seem human," said one friend who has no idea what a Turing test would do. That sounds like fun, but the potential of generative AI could be worth $4.4 trillion to the global economy annually, according to McKinsey Global Institute.

Besides the obviously popular AI tools, there are others like Anthropic's Claude, the Perplexity AI search tool and gadgets from Humane and Rabbit.

A glossary would range from very basic terms. such as "prompt," which is the suggestion or question you enter into an AI chatbot to get a response which might lead you to "prompt chaining:" That is the ability of AI to use information from previous interactions to produce future responses.

What does it mean if a tool is "agentive?" That might be a system or model that exhibits agency with the ability to autonomously pursue actions to achieve a goal. This is where we enter an area that scares some people. An agentive model can act without constant supervision. Consider autonomous car features, such as brakes that apply without the user touching the pedal, or pulls a car back into the lined lanes.

Speaking of AI fears, we have "emergent behavior:" This is when an AI model exhibits unintended abilities.

Most AI tools warn about assuming that what answer is given is 100% correct. A "hallucination" is an incorrect response from AI. Even the AI creators don't always know the reasons for this aren't entirely known.

"Weak AI, AKA "narrow AI" is focused on a particular task and can't learn beyond its skill set. As marvelous as image creating AI can be, it has just one task.

A test in which a model must complete a task without being given the requisite training data is called "zero-shot learning." AI trained to identify cars being able to recognize vans, pickup trucks or tractor trailers.

More terms and some reviews of chatbots at cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/

 

I mentioned in an earlier post that everyone in education - students and teachers - says that they use AI in their work, but very few can say they are formally trained or certified in the use of AI.

One option is Google AI Essentials. It is a short and affordable ($49 USD) online course that takes under 10 hours and provides you with an AI training certificate.

The course outline explains that there is a 21x increase in job postings mentioning AI technologies, so this training should give you an edge.

Google AI Essentials can help you discover how you can use AI to assist, empower, and inspire you. Learn how to use generative AI tools to help speed up daily tasks, make more informed decisions, and develop new ideas and content.

A course like this can help you use AI tools to boost your productivity. You can complete the course at your own pace. Zero experience is required

You can get started on Coursera

The biggest EdTech stories of 2024 seemed to all revolve around the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence.

This use of AI in education can range from fears of students using AI to "cheat," to AI-powered personalized learning. Platforms using AI to tailor learning paths to individual student needs, and providing real-time feedback and then adapting content based on progress is an AI path that most educators would welcome.

I also saw some increasing interest in skills-based training and upskilling platforms.

A positive trend is the increased accessibility to education through immersive technologies like VR/AR. I also saw positive potential with platforms addressing mental health and wellbeing within the learning environment.

Students of all ages and levels continue to acquire formal AI skills & training online: Students and workers might say they use AI in their work, but it is less likely that a person is certified in AI use in some way. (More on that in my next post.).

A report from IE University in Madrid found that 75% of Europeans support the use of AI technologies such as facial recognition and biometric data by the police and military for surveillance purposes.

The extent of the support is perhaps surprising, as Europe holds some of the strictest data privacy regulations in the world.
IE University’s “European Tech Insights” report also found that the vast majority of Europeans (67%) fear AI manipulation in elections.

IE University’s report also found a generational AI divide in Europe. Roughly a third (34%) of people aged between 18 and 34 would trust an AI-powered app to vote for politicians on their behalf. This figure falls to 29% for people aged 35 to 44, and just 9% for individuals aged 65 and over.

Opinions on AI applications vary widely. The level of support for the use of AI in public service tasks, such as traffic optimization was at 79%. However, when it comes to sensitive matters, like parole decisions, most Europeans (64%) oppose the use of AI.

SOURCE:https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/21/three-in-four-europeans-support-use-of-ai-by-the-police-and-military.html