The rapid rise of AI: Why everything is happening so quickly

Advice General AI

The enormous amount of available data
One of the most important factors is the increasing availability of data. AI systems require data on which to base their decisions. The more data they have, the better they perform. The exponential growth of the internet and the digitalization of our society mean that more and more data is becoming available. This makes the learning models behind AI systems increasingly better.

AI for everyone through open-source software
The availability of open-source software makes it easier for developers to experiment with AI and create new applications. This development suddenly made us all use AI applications. For the tool, this is also beneficial because as we use it massively, the tool becomes smarter thanks to the new data we provide.

Increased computing power
In addition to data, the computing power of computers has also increased enormously. The arrival of powerful processors and graphics cards makes it possible to train and use more complex AI models. This is a very important factor for the sudden rise of AI.

Significant investments
More and more money is being invested in AI. Companies, governments, and capital investors see the potential of AI and invest in research, development, and new applications. Think of Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Microsoft's investment in OpenAI, and Amazon's investment in AI for e-commerce.

These are the main reasons that led to a huge boom in AI last year. In the coming years, we expect AI to continue to develop at the same pace and to have as big an impact on our society as the internet did around the year 2000.

Of course, there are also important questions we need to ask ourselves:

• How can we ensure that AI is used responsibly and ethically?
• What is the impact of AI on the job market?

In response to these questions, the European Union has reached a preliminary agreement on regulating artificial intelligence (the AI Act). The key takeaways from the preliminary agreement:

• AI systems are divided into four risks. The higher the risk, the stricter the requirements.
• For high-risk systems, strict rules will be enforced, including required transparency regarding the structure, content, and operation of the systems.
• There will be a ban on categorizing people based on 'biometric characteristics', such as race, sexual orientation, or religion.
• Fines range from 35 million euros to a percentage of a company's revenue.

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