Generative AI: The Game-Changer in 2024’s AI Landscape
Even though there are many branches of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it’s safe to say that what is trending or hot today is Generative AI (GenAI) due to its rapid adoption and economic impact.
Based on a recent Harvard news publication, as of August 2024, nearly 40% of U.S. adults aged 18–64 had used Generative AI. I’m personally not surprised to see this significant adoption and enthusiasm, given the benefits one could gain by using AI-based tools to improve the efficiency and productivity of day-to-day work and be more competitive in the commercial world.
The above image illustrates a few main branches of AI and, more specifically, how GenAI fits into the bigger picture. As shown in the image, GenAI is an application area that primarily leverages techniques from Machine Learning (ML) and Neural Networks, particularly Deep Learning. These foundational technologies are crucial for GenAI’s development.
In the simplest form, it’s safe to say that GenAI is a technology that can generate text, images, and videos by leveraging patterns and data it has been trained on. GenAI tools are mainly powered by Large Language Models (LLMs), which primarily work with text and words.
Some of the most popular products that leverage GenAI are ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Google Gemini. The trade secret or the USP of each of these products lies in what they have been trained on, which is essentially their LLM.
Note: The details in the post and the figure are simplified to convey the primary messages in an effective and straightforward manner.
