Generative AI. You've heard this term echoing through the corridors of your company, right? Maybe in corridor conversations, in uninspired PowerPoint presentations or in online articles that promise to revolutionize the world (like this one). But let's be honest: how many times have you really stopped to understand what this Generative AI thing is and, more importantly, what it means for the future of your business?
If you're still stuck in the "passing fad versus technological revolution" dilemma, get ready for a shock of reality. Generative AI is not only real, it's already reshaping the world as we know it, and the wave is only just beginning.
The figures are alarming, in a good way:
- 1 trillion: according to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, the Generative AI market could reach US$1 trillion in the next few years (Source: InterSpeech 2023)
- 300 million: the number of jobs that could be impacted by Generative AI, according to a Goldman Sachs study. (Source: Goldman Sachs)
- 90%: the percentage of online content that could be generated by AI by 2025, according to a Gartner forecast. (Source: Gartner)
- 61.5% of images: in a recent study of 14,676 participants, researchers from Lancaster University found that 61.5% of the images shown, which included both real photos and AI-generated images, were in fact AI creations. This illustrates how generative AI is already present in the production of visual content, even if we don't realize it. (Source: Proceedings of the ACM Web Conference 2023)
- Millions of users, billions of images: Platforms such as Midjourney, DALL-E 2 and Stable Diffusion, which allow images to be created from text, have already amassed millions of users and drive the creation of billions of images every month. The CEO of Stability AI, creator of Stable Diffusion, said that the platform has already been used to generate more than 10 billion images, an impressive figure considering that it was launched in 2022.
In the world of programming:
- 1.2 million developers: joined Copilot in just 6 months after its launch. (Source: GitHub Blog)
- 40% of the code: on average, is generated by Copilot in the languages in which it is most commonly used. (Source: GitHub Blog)
These numbers don't lie. Generative AI is already flooding the internet with machine-generated content, from impressively realistic images to persuasive text and functional code.
But does quality go hand in hand with quantity?
The short answer is: yes, and in many cases, the quality of Generative AI already surpasses that of humans.
- A Stanford University study has revealed that AI-generated images are now indistinguishable from real photos for most people. (Source: Stanford University)
- OpenAI shocked the world with ChatGPT, a language model so advanced that it can write creative texts, generate code and even hold complex conversations.
- Platforms such as Tess AI, DALL-E 2 and Midjourney allow anyone to create impressive images with just a few keywords, democratizing access to creativity and challenging the limits of art.
Ignoring Generative AI is no longer an option.
Executives and entrepreneurs who fail to adapt to this new reality risk being left behind. Generative AI is not just a tool for increasing efficiency; it is a disruptive force that is creating new markets, transforming business models and redefining the future of work.
Instead of fearing change, embrace it. Generative AI offers unlimited potential to drive innovation, increase productivity and create new business opportunities. It's up to you to decide whether to ride the crest of the wave or be swallowed up by the tsunami.