As an educator, especially as one who works with high school juniors and seniors, I have carefully watched the trends of how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in business and industry. My seniors, if they follow a traditional path, are less than five years away from entering the permanent workforce. Clearly, there have been incredible changes in the world of work over the past two and a half years since the first general model of ChatGPT emerged. What will their world look like when they graduate from college? I think about this a lot.

Recently, a school parent who utilizes AI was a guest speaker for my Lights Academy students. He works for a technology startup that uses AI for property valuations. His presentation was interesting and valuable as we consider the future of our students. Here is an AI-generated summary of his thoughts.

Frequently Asked Questions on AI and its Impact

1. How can AI be a practical tool for entrepreneurs, and why is it compared to a power drill? AI serves as a powerful tool for entrepreneurs by drastically enhancing efficiency and saving time, which is considered the most valuable resource for them. Like a power drill compared to a manual screwdriver, AI allows tasks to be accomplished faster and with less effort. AI can automate low-value, time-consuming tasks like email management, scheduling, and reporting, freeing up entrepreneurs to focus on strategy, innovation, and growth. This shift allows small teams to achieve what once required larger teams.
2. What are some real-world examples of industries where AI is already saving time and improving efficiency? AI is currently revolutionizing numerous industries. In healthcare, AI accelerates diagnostics, leading to faster patient care. In software, it’s boosting coding and quality assurance processes. The logistics sector benefits from AI-optimized delivery routes. In real estate, companies like HouseCanary are using predictive analytics to make faster decisions. These examples highlight that AI is already reshaping workflows and boosting productivity across various fields.
3. What are some ethical considerations when using AI in business or personal projects? When using AI, ethical considerations are paramount. It’s crucial to disclose when AI is used, especially in creative content or business processes to maintain transparency. AI tools should complement human creativity and not replace it altogether. It’s also important to be mindful of biases that may be present in AI outputs, as these biases can perpetuate inequalities. The power of AI should be used responsibly, ensuring its application aligns with ethical standards.
4. How can AI be used to enhance or connect with one’s faith? AI can become a valuable tool for strengthening one’s faith. AI-powered apps can suggest relevant scripture based on emotional needs or questions, while also providing historical and cultural context to the text. Furthermore, AI chatbots can facilitate online discussions among believers worldwide, connecting individuals and communities. AI tools can assist churches with outreach and personalize messages for different congregants, helping them feel more connected.
5. What are the basic components and functions of how Large Language Models (LLMs) work? LLMs work by using vast amounts of data (text, code, online content). They learn through patterns and relationships between words using neural networks, particularly Transformer networks. Key components include the attention mechanism, which allows the model to focus on relevant parts of the input; and embedding layers, which translate words into vectors representing their meaning. LLMs use tokenization, which breaks the input into smaller pieces, and they predict the next token based on the context (autoregressive models), generating text one piece at a time.
6. How do AI agents work, and what are some types of AI agents? AI agents function by perceiving their environment, making decisions based on their perceptions, and taking actions based on those decisions, with a feedback loop to learn and improve. They have input mechanisms like cameras or APIs, decision-making processes that can use rule-based systems, ML models or reinforcement learning, and action methods such as robotic movement or text generation. Reactive agents act without memory, deliberative agents plan over long-term goals, and learning agents adapt through experience. Multi-agent systems work collaboratively or competitively.
7. What are some significant risks associated with the development and use of AI? Several critical risks accompany AI development, such as the loss of human control due to superintelligent AI which could make decisions that humans cannot control, the use of AI in autonomous weapons which could lead to unintended escalations, and the potential for economic disruption and inequality caused by widespread automation. Other concerns include data privacy violations, the development of self-learning systems that can behave unpredictably, manipulation of political systems, and over-dependence on AI, which could leave humanity vulnerable to failures or attacks on critical systems.
8. What are the potential benefits of AI across various sectors? The potential benefits of AI are vast and span multiple sectors. In healthcare, AI can revolutionize personalized medicine and early disease detection. It can help address global challenges like climate change through better energy systems, optimize disaster management, and enhance food security. In education, AI can personalize learning and improve accessibility. Other benefits include increased productivity, economic growth through new jobs, and safer transportation through autonomous vehicles. AI will also advance scientific discovery and provide insights that help humans be more creative, innovate more effectively, and make better decisions.

Our speaker was certainly an example of someone innovative with AI but also thoughtful about how AI might be utilized in the future. I hope his musings are as helpful for you as they were for me in better understanding the emerging AI-powered world and how we might respond to and/or utilize AI in education.

Disclaimer: AI was used in the generation of the summary shared above and in the creation of the image connected with this post.