Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates has touted the development of artificial intelligence (AI) as the most important technological innovation in decades.
Mr Gates equated AI with the invention of microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone, noting that it will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other.
The billionaire was writing in a blog post about the technology used by tools such as chatbot ChatGPT developed by OpenAI.
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot which is designed to answer questions online using natural, human-like language. The creators of ChatGPT have already bagged a multibillion dollar investment from Microsoft.
AI has gained increasing traction over the recent as new innovations based on the technology spring up. AI-powered chatbots, for instance, are rising by the day, the latest being Bard launched by Google recently.
Mr Gates pointed to his role in the creation of the ChatGPT, disclosing that in 2022, he challenged the OpenAI team to train an AI that can pass an Advanced Placement (AP) Biology exam – roughly equivalent to an A-level exam – with the strict rule that the AI could not be specifically trained to answer Biology questions.
He said the AI achieved scored excellently, missing only one mark out of 50. After that, Mr Gates said he asked the AI to write a response to a father with a sick child.
“It wrote a thoughtful answer that was probably better than most of us in the room would have given,” he said.
“I knew I had just seen the most important advance in technology since the graphical user interface (GUI).”
A GUI is a visual display – allowing a person to interact with images and icons, rather than a display that shows only text and requires typed commands. Its development led to the Windows and Mac OS operating systems in the 1980s, and remains a key part of computing.
And Mr Gates says he believes AI tech will lead to similar advancements.
Mr Gates has urged governments to partner with industry to “limit the risks” of AI, but added the technology could be used to save lives.
“AI-driven improvements will be especially important for poor countries, where the vast majority of under-5 deaths happen,” he wrote.
“Many people in those countries never get to see a doctor, and AIs will help the health workers they do see be more productive.”
He said the tech is perfectly suited to carry out repetitive tasks such as insurance claims, paperwork, and note-taking.
Mr Gates said AI technology can be a powerful tool to bridge inequality if targeted system is adopted in its rollout.
“Market forces won’t naturally produce AI products and service that help the poorest. The opposite is more likely. With reliable funding and the right policies, governments and philanthropy can ensure that AIs are used to reduce inequity,” he said.
“Just as the world needs its brightest people focused on its biggest problems, we will need to focus the world’s best AIs on its biggest problems.”