For something that mimics the intelligence of the average pigeon, artificial intelligence (AI) has spread its wings and swooped in on virtually every aspect of human existence from generating Beethoven’s symphony to help a judge make a court ruling.

In the world of finance, specialist investment companies such as quant hedge funds have openly admitted to using AI to guide their investment making decisions. AI has also been quietly working in the corner in cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, know-your-client checks or chatbots.

Yes. Chatbots. Let’s talk about the chatbot of the moment: ChatGPT.

Owned and developed by Open AI, a research laboratory co-founded by Elon Musk himself, ChatGPT is an AI-powered technology modelled around language and dialogue and capable of dishing out answers to any viable question(s) it is asked with stunning comprehension.

With a history dating back to 2015 leading up to a solid US$10 billion multi-year investment by Microsoft in 2023, ChatGPT is effectively growing into an everyday tool used by netizens who can easily access the technology via a website.

Among the adventurous was a judge in Columbia who enlisted the help of ChatGPT with a legal dispute involving a health insurance company and an autistic child. His honour posed questions such as ‘Is an autistic minor exonerated from paying fees for their therapies?’ on the ChatGPT website and included the consequent answers in his final ruling.

In December 2022, one of ChatGPT’s responses found its way into the speech of a British member of Parliament about regulating the use of AI, including OpenAI’s tools and, as a bonus, a heart-warming AI-generated Christmas poem.

Australia also had its share of headlines around the chatbot, but this time with a more sinister undertone, when the topic of AI potentially being used for ‘mass destruction’ was brought up in an Australian parliamentary speech – again partly, and ironically, written by ChatGPT.

AI is certainly making its digital presence felt across the physical world. The burgeoning technology is being used to create images of TV news anchors, script car advertisements, brew beer, make pizzas, flip burgers and (why not?) brush your teeth.

In one of its recent high profile uses, AI was used by renowned DJ David Guetta to emulate the voice of Grammy-winning rap artist Eminem in a track played during one of the former’s performances, and apparently the crowd went ‘nuts’. 

So if something, even as intangible as talent, can be digitised, replicated and delivered to the masses, will AI be to humans what the automobile was to the horse and carriage? 

When posed with the exact same question, here’s how ChatGPT responded:

‘While AI is likely to transform many industries, it’s also important to recognise that it’s a tool created by humans, rather than a replacement for them. Ultimately, the relationship between AI and humans will depend on how we choose to develop and use it in the future.’

Look out world! Here AI comes.