My tin foil hat

What will such easy access to important information have on society and how we work?

I got some sad news about the health of someone close on Friday, which meant I haven’t felt like writing.

But I’ve also been distracted by the Artificial Intelligence war that's been heating up between Microsoft and Google, as they race to release their AI-powered search engines.

Readers will know I've been using ChatGPT a lot (see how I used it when my psychologist was away here) and to see it’s now able to search the internet for answers via the Bing search engine was incredible, and left me wondering how such easy access to important information will impact society and how we work.

After a few days on the waitlist, I got access to the new Bing on Monday and within minutes it:

• correctly predicted the Super Bowl winner and margin (Chiefs by 3)

• helped me list all businesses within a 1km radius of The Dock

• and do a financial analysis of Alfred's competitors.

This took seconds…

People have been banging on about an AI revolution for years, and I know reading about AI isn’t why you subscribed to Struggling.

But I feel a responsibility to warn you about what’s happening, as AI being incorporated into search results is going to shift how the world functions in a way greater than anything I've seen in my lifetime.

My friends have all stopped answering my calls and think I have a tin foil hat on, but I believe the moment when AI starts dramatically impacting how regular people live has finally arrived.

Soon anyone can access publicly available information quickly and easily, and have it presented in a way they understand.

But can’t we already do that Ben? Well… I think the answer is “no we can’t” as reports claim 50% of all internet searches currently go unanswered, as people don’t want to scroll through a list of links and articles trying to find an answer.

“Ugh… Benny is texting me about ChatGPT again”

This new ability to access answers easily is going to have a huge impact on our society, and our dependence on human “experts” will be less. We’ll no longer have to pay someone for answers or spend time researching and digging through information, because the AI will help us find exactly what we need in a matter of seconds, and I find this both scary and exciting.

Yes, there will be issues with data accuracy. Yes, there will be ethical concerns. But I think they’ll all will be addressed and improved over time. And the fact Google lost $100 billion when it’s answer to ChatGPT (called ‘Bard’) gave an incorrect answer during a demonstration, points to the scale of what is about to happen.

What this all means for the economy and workforce is unclear, but I have 3 predictions:

1. “The cream will rise to the top” as people will now more easily find the best things regarding places to eat and stuff to buy (e.g. “Where is the best place to have a beer in Canberra?”)

2. Our reputations will become even more important because just like the above example, negative news will have the ability to spread quickly. Perhaps faster. Therefore as soon as you’re caught lying and deemed a “less credible” source of information, AI will quickly dismiss what you are saying and turn to more credible sources for its results.

3. Due to the number of jobs it will disrupt, the use of AI will become the biggest political issue, surpassing climate change and the rest of the culture wars.

But AI will impact society in more ways than that, so I asked Bing to come up with a list of ways how it thinks AI will change how we work and it replied:

1. Increased automation: AI like ChatGPT can automate repetitive and boring tasks, freeing up time for people to focus on higher-level tasks that require creativity and critical thinking.

2. Improved efficiency: AI can analyse large amounts of data and provide insights that would be difficult or impossible for humans to identify on their own, which can lead to more efficient decision-making and improved productivity.

3. New job opportunities: While AI may displace some jobs, it will also create new opportunities in areas such as data analysis, programming, and machine learning, which require specialised skills and knowledge.

Scary and exciting times are ahead and what exactly happens over the next few years is anyone’s guess. But consider yourself warned, as I think anyone who is dismissing this new technology is doing themselves and their career a disservice.

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Anyways, I promise this is the last time I’ll write about stuff that’s outside mental health, Rugby and Alfred.

If you want to continue this conversation about how AI is going to change how we live and work, please join this WhatsApp chat.

And if you want to read more about AI, then check out Ethan Mollick's incredible substack

One Useful Thing

, where he shares his insights as a university professor who's exploring the impact this technology is having on his teaching.

I hope you weren't getting too comfortable.