Submitted by AdditionalPizza t3_zkb5hz in singularity
First of all, sorry if I come off so matter-of-fact. And sorry if this feels like a crack-pot, wannabe prophet post that can be common around here. I realize my title sounds like click-bait, but I seriously feel strongly about this, and I assure you the full read is worth considering. Long post incoming.
2023 will almost certainly be the year we see the beginning of truly Transformative AI. I say that, because well, I'm rounding up, it's already here at the end of 2022. However, it's not quite up to the task yet, we need the next generation of LLM to drop before us commoners will be able to take full advantage. Start using chatGPT if you haven't already. Give characterAI some focus of your time. If you have played around with them, keep going back. Start trying to incorporate it into things you do in your day to day. It won't be able to complete every task you ask of it, but you need to learn this now.
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A lot of us remember learning how to properly construct a Google search. Using quotation marks, adding 'site:' followed by the exact page you want results for, setting the time frame for specific results or to push past SEO and get the most recent results for your research. Things like that put you leaps ahead of most people using a search engine. The skill gap of the internet is actually quite vast today. Insiders and experts have been regurgitating this "AI will change the way we access the internet" line in several talks and videos now. What does that mean though?
In the beginning I imagine it will be simply typing a question to an AI and it outputting the best and most concise answer for you, kind of like talking to chatGPT right now. As anyone that's used these AI so far knows, prompting is important. Same deal with getting images made from Text to Image models, it's almost like an artform itself, getting the prompts perfect.
This won't last long though, prompting "exactly" will go away, and that vast skill gap of using the internet will become much narrower. There will most likely be a time frame in the next year or 2 of an absolute gold rush in using AI when prompting starts to become simpler and less precise. I'm not necessarily talking about creating and training an AI yourself, though if that's something you think you can do then more power to you. I'm talking about those of us that are average people, that want to get ahead in life before the inevitable AI automation revolution.
Say you have a hobby, let's say something like wood working. You make wooden spoons. You might only make them for fun, but it would be cool to sell them online. How much would someone pay for it? How much do you need to make per spoon so it's worth your efforts? Do you have a bunch of wooden spoons already lying around? There will be a short period of time to corner the online wooden spoon market with AI. Sure, other wooden spoon makers will come along after, but wouldn't you rather be one of the first?
How will AI help? You ask it how to cut and finish a luxury yet affordable wooden spoon, you ask it how much to sell it for to make a profit and how much people will likely pay for it, you take photos of it. You send the photos to the AI, it recreates the photos to look professional and it builds a website for you, then you're selling within an hour. You ask it how to market your spoons. You ask it to write your business statement.
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Now of course that's just an example, and it could go many different ways in the near future. However the point is keep your eyes open, and your ear to the ground. Get on board early, hit the market fast with your own innovations. Perhaps you will be able to make a 2023 version of a stupid game like flappy bird and make some serious money. Maybe you'll get a promotion at the tech company you work for and work directly with the State of the Art, and be an irreplaceable asset for years to come. Who knows, you could create a new social media company that takes off because it's what the world has been yearning for. Or, maybe you'll just get an investment in early and pad your savings account. All of these may be plausible or maybe they're way off base. But the writing is on the wall, this kind of opportunity is just out of reach today, and 2023 it will probably start to become a reality.
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Have you been worried about being replaced by automation, and can't for the life of you think of something better to focus you energy on to future proof your livelihood? Of course keep thinking about that, keep studying or working or whatever you do to keep yourself financially and mentally stable. But I urge you to get as familiar as possible with using AI right now. Use it in your spare time, use it for everything you can even when you don't need to. It may seem easy to get the results you want, but try getting the exact results you want. Try getting the wrong results. Try getting results you never thought of. Try pretending it's 5 years in the future and life is just "this way" now and you use your "AI assistant" for everything.
Don't wind up being your grandparents that only use the internet for "The Facebook," you are already interested in this stuff being a part of this Subreddit, keep pushing to follow the news. If someone posts an AI paper and it makes no sense to you, research it. Figure out what it could mean for the future of AI. Stay vigilant, because a month of missed information could be everything.
None of us will be able to stay up to date with every single bit of news, information is already coming in too fast to read it all but it will keep accelerating. Familiarizing yourself with the technology now will be immensely easier than starting from scratch later, and it'll keep you ahead of the curve for as long as possible.
We can only speculate how long or even if AGI comes sooner or later or even at all. But what we do know now, is Transformative AI is here on our doorstep, and we need to prepare ourselves. The advantage to knowing what's coming isn't to gloat and have the opportunity to say "I told you so" to the people in our lives that were oblivious and caught off guard. The real advantage is right in front of our faces: It's to use it and practice with it, to be inspired now by it so we can hit the ground running.
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TLDR: If you're unsure what the future holds with employment and automation, you're probably a little anxious trying to come up with what you can do to prevent being obsolete. While I'm not a prophet and I have no idea what the future for myself or anyone else holds, I can say without a doubt: Learn how to use AI. RIGHT NOW! It will be important, you will be thankful you did. You might think you already have, and it's not that difficult. You're wrong, there's things it can do today that will still surprise you. In 2 weeks, or a month, or 2 months it will continue to surprise you. Soon the limits to its capabilities will only be your own imagination. Even if it just means you become a more productive and learned individual, you at least won't be left behind and angry in the dust. Stay on the progressive side of tech, it isn't going to stop before it comes for your job.
illseeuanon_ t1_izyrb8a wrote
God I wish I could take this advice. I already knew everything here.
I have severe ADHD and can't get myself to take advantage of this opportunity. Causes me so much anxiety knowing all this is just passing me by.