The Future Of AI is Coming Sooner than We Think [Newsletter #43]

Hello, AI enthusiasts! 👋 Welcome to this week’s AI and the Future of Work newsletter.

Not long ago, the idea of machines becoming conscious was pure science fiction. Now, it’s not just a possibility—it’s a topic of serious debate.

For some, this rapid progress is unsettling. For others, it’s an opportunity to take proactive steps, setting the right boundaries to ensure a safe and beneficial coexistence with AI.

Today’s guest challenges us to think beyond the present, speculate on where AI is heading, and embrace the wave of transformation that’s already here.

Let’s dive into this week’s highlights! 🚀

🎙️ New Podcast Episode With Dr. Craig Wheeler, Astrophysicist, Professor, Researcher and Author

Dr. Craig Wheeler was convinced that Homo sapiens was as close to perfection as we'd get until he discussed the topic in a small seminar with university students. There, the students raised a fascinating idea. 

Perhaps, with our growing knowledge of DNA and genetic research, we're on the verge of controlling our own evolution instead of waiting for natural selection. 

That idea stuck with him. As a self-proclaimed “new-idea junkie,” Dr. Wheeler thrives in fields that constantly evolve, from astronomy to AI and the future of humanity.

A prolific researcher, he has published nearly 400 scientific papers, written several books, and is the author of The Path to Singularity: How Technology Will Challenge the Future of Humanity.

He’s also a sought-after lecturer, recipient of numerous teaching awards, and has served on advisory committees for NSF, NASA, and the National Research Council. His research interests beyond exploding stars and black holes include humanity's technological future.

Our CEO, Dan Turchin, sat down with Dr. Wheeler to discuss this and much more:

• Instead of focusing on our definition of artificial general intelligence and artificial superior intelligence, we should focus on the wave of change that's coming with AI to learn how to cope with it. 

• Machine consciousness is possible, but how will it converge with millions of years of biological evolution?

• In that same discussion, AI doesn't need to be conscious of changing how company leaders work, maybe even replacing them altogether. 

• The more you know, the more you can do, but information can advance so fast that we can't adapt while machine learning easily does so. That's where regulations come into play. 

Our latest AI and the Future of Work podcast episode featuring Dr. Craig Wheeler inspired this issue.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here to learn more about why Dr. Wheeler believes a little speculation is necessary as AI becomes more powerful with every passing day, and we should prepare ourselves for embracing the future.

📖 AI Fun Fact Article

What is intelligence, really? That’s the question Dan Turchin invites us to explore this week.

A fascinating article by Darren Orf in Popular Mechanics suggests that we could reach AI singularity within the next six years—a claim worth pinning for future reference.

You can read it here. 

Singularity refers to the moment when AI surpasses human intelligence and control.

If (or when) that happens, society will undergo rapid, unpredictable changes—faster than anything we’re seeing now.

How close are we?

AI researchers track progress using various metrics, including speech translation accuracy.

For example, the Rome-based company Translated measures how long human editors take to correct AI-generated translations vs. human ones. Their metric, Time to Edit (TTE), has shown a steady improvement.

With over 2 billion editing instances analyzed, AI is closing the gap. Translated predicts that AI will reach human-level translation quality by the end of this decade.

But does that mean AI will suddenly be as intelligent as humans?
Not quite. Intelligence is more than just language processing.

Dan asks us to focus on using AI to make humans better instead of trying to trick people into believing that machines are human.

🎶 Worth a Watch! 📚

👋 Until Next Time: Stay Curious

👋 That's a Wrap for This Week!

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