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The year 2023 was a remarkable one for artificial intelligence (AI) development, as consumers and regulators witnessed the emergence and expansion of various AI tools and applications. However, experts believe that this is just the beginning and that 2024 will bring more challenges and opportunities for the field.
Christopher Alexander, chief analytics officer of Pioneer Development Group, told Fox News Digital that AI development will continue to advance in 2024, but not to the extent of creating fully autonomous systems.
“AI will move a little closer to what is in the public imagination, but we remain years from AI being autonomous in the way people are imagining it,” Alexander said.
AI Development in 2023: A New Tech Era
One of the major drivers of AI development in 2023 was the popularity of language learning models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can generate natural language texts based on large amounts of data. These LLMs attracted the attention and investment of many tech giants, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta, who launched their own AI initiatives and products.
Microsoft, for instance, invested in OpenAI and introduced its chatbot for its Bing search platform and Windows 11 operating system. Google, Amazon, and Meta also announced their plans to leverage AI for various purposes, such as cloud computing, e-commerce, and social media.
These moves created a new tech era, where AI development became a competitive and collaborative endeavor among the leading tech companies.
AI Development in 2024: More Innovation and Customization
While the tech giants dominated the AI development scene in 2023, experts predict that 2024 will see more innovation and customization from startups and individual users.
Samuel Mangold-Lenett, staff editor at The Federalist, told Fox News Digital that he expects the momentum of AI development to increase in 2024, as startups and users find new ways to apply and personalize AI tools.
“Corporations have found solid footing, startups are learning how to customize it to fill various niches, and the public has realized that in some critical ways, AI technology is a net positive,” Mangold-Lenett said.
Mangold-Lenett also anticipates that AI development will become more user-friendly and accessible in 2024, as hardware and software integrate more seamlessly.
“I expect this will be the year that we see a lot more customization and niche AI companies to pop up while massive LLMs continue to aggregate and process vast sums of data,” Mangold-Lenett said. “Hardware will likely become increasingly integrated with AI as well, like smartphone digital assistants. Largescale AI manufacturing is still a way out, we’re waiting for the robotics to catch up, and I doubt an AGI will come online.”
Phil Siegel, the founder of the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS), echoed this view, telling Fox News Digital that custom AI models will “explode” in 2024, as corporations realize the potential of using their data to improve their processes and efficiency.
“The use of LLMs will increase but will maybe disappoint except in pockets – things like sales, marketing customer support, and tech development will explode. Other uses of LLMs may not move as quickly, but custom models tailored for company use will explode in 2024,” Siegel said.
AI Development in 2024: More Regulation and Expectation
Along with the excitement and innovation that AI development will bring in 2024, experts also warn that there will be more regulation and expectations from society and the government.
AI development has already raised some ethical and social issues, such as privacy, bias, accountability, and employment. These issues prompted some regulatory actions in 2023, such as the Biden administration’s agreement with leading tech companies to safely develop AI tools in July and the executive order signed by President Biden in October on AI safety.
However, experts believe that these are not enough and that more policies and frameworks are needed to ensure that AI development is beneficial and responsible for all stakeholders.
Alexander, for example, stressed the importance of creating a social framework that takes AI development into account for the jobs that are most likely to be replaced by AI.
“I do think it is crucial that we begin creating a social framework that takes AI into account for those jobs that are the most likely to be replaced the soonest,” Alexander said.
Aiden Buzzetti, the president of the Bull Moose Project, also highlighted the need for more regulation and competition in AI development, especially in China, which has been aggressively pursuing AI development as a strategic goal.
“Startups have used LLM models to proliferate AI relationship building, craft essays, develop internal company tools; all things that could displace parts of life humanity is used to,” Buzzetti told Fox News Digital. “The regulation thresholds are still being developed but are now shaped by the Biden executive order. Any policy suggestions will have to compete with those documents for safety standards and best practices.”
AI development is poised to accelerate in 2024, as experts foresee more innovation, customization, and regulation in the field. The implications of this trend are both exciting and challenging and will require careful and collaborative efforts from all parties involved.