AI as a force multiplier
Today's AI, with its many flaws, is more of a force multiplier than revolutionary tech. Australia should avoid rushing to compete with global leaders in the name of AI sovereignty and instead focus on building guardrails, without being so prescriptive as to kill innovative attempts at AI diffusion.
Artificial intelligence (AI) took the world by storm in late 2022, becoming the fastest-growing consumer application of all time. Suddenly we all had our very own personal assistant to compose poetry, edit our essays or even write code. The potential seemed without limits, but especially in sectors previously impervious to productivity improvements such as health and education.
Late last year, McKinsey produced the following infographic highlighting the potential productivity benefits for these laggards, with "the economic value of gen AI estimated to reach trillions of dollars annually".
After many decades, have we finally invented something truly revolutionary? I'm not so sure.
