If you’ve scrolled through social media recently, you’ve probably come across a surprisingly coherent passage crafted by ChatGPT or a dazzling image drawn by DALL-E 2. The creative capacity of artificial intelligence is rapidly improving, to the awe of millions of users and the dismay of everyone from artists to school administrators who fear it facilitates rampant cheating and tramples over the essence of human creativity.
These generative AI programs are usually available for free, which undoubtedly has contributed to their popularity. But what happens when the companies behind the programs decide they want to monetize their products? Generative AI has the potential to disrupt a wide array of industries and change how we interact with each other and express ourselves, but just because it could doesn’t mean it will.
David Karpf, an associate professor of media and public affairs at the George Washington University, explored this potential conundrum in a recent article for The Atlantic:
Institutions, over time, adapt to new technologies. New technologies are incorporated into large, complex social systems. Every revolutionary new technology changes and is changed by the existing social system; it is not an immutable force of nature. The shape of these revenue models will not be clear for years, and we collectively have the agency to influence how it develops.
Professor Karpf is available to share his perspective on the future of generative AI. If you would like to schedule an interview with Professor Karpf, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].