Throughout human history, it has always been groundbreaking inventions and technical developments that have advanced civilisation. Let's start briefly in the 19th century. The invention of the steam engine, the discovery of electricity with electric light and the invention of the telephone were milestones that significantly shaped the development of the Western world. In the 20th century, the automobile became the preferred means of transport for everyone. Air travel made it possible to travel across countries and continents in a matter of hours. In the 1990s, the personal computer (PC) became widespread and the internet connected the world. Human knowledge was freely available to anyone who had access to it.

In the 21st century, people learned to use smartphones and thus had „the internet in their pockets“. The 2020s will go down in history as the birth of artificial intelligence (AI). With this article, we begin a Series of articles on artificial intelligence, because it will lead to an epoch-making change in our daily lives. It will be up to each individual to decide whether or not to take advantage of the new opportunities. To do so, one must understand what AI makes possible.

First, let's take a look at where AI is already being used today. We use ChatGPT in our editorial office. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer. It's worth taking a closer look at this:

1. GenerativeThe term „generative“ refers to the model's ability to create or „generate“ new content. In relation to language, this means that the model is capable of composing texts based on the given input, be it a question, a keyword or the beginning of a sentence. This generated response is not simply retrieved from a database, but is created independently and dynamically by the model itself, based on its training and the given context.
2. Pre-trained„Pre-trained“ means that the model has already been trained on a large amount of data before its specific use. This training enables the model to develop a deep understanding of language, patterns, context and diverse information. It is not the case that the model starts learning from scratch with every new request; rather, it builds on a rich pool of previously learned knowledge.
3. transformerThe „Transformer“ is a specific model or architecture within artificial intelligence, particularly in the field of machine learning. This type of model is particularly efficient in processing and generating natural language. Transformers are able to recognise and take into account long dependencies and complex relationships in text data, which is extremely important for understanding and generating natural language.

In summary, a „generative pre-trained transformer“ is a sophisticated AI model that specialises in generating human-like text. It uses its extensive pre-training and advanced transformer architecture to respond to queries in a way that takes relevant information into account and is often indistinguishable from real human communication.

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We did not come up with this explanation ourselves. The explanation was generated by ChatGPT itself. This is the first AI-generated text in this series of articles. We will review all AI texts. italic so that human and automated Do not blur the details.

It might even be inappropriate for us humans to try to explain what AI is, what it can do and where it is already being used. AI can do that nicely itself. So we asked:

To what extent does AI determine daily life?

ChatGPT: Artificial intelligence (AI) is having an increasingly significant impact on daily life in many areas, with its influence continuing to evolve. Some of the key areas where AI is present include:

1. Communication: Voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, based on AI, are integrated into smartphones and smart home devices and make it easier to control devices, search for information and interact with technology using natural language.
2. Entertainment and media: Recommendation algorithms used by streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify and YouTube adapt to users' preferences and enhance the entertainment experience through personalised suggestions.
3. Traffic and navigation: AI-supported systems in vehicles and traffic management systems contribute to improving road safety and efficiency. Self-driving cars, which are still under development, are another step in this direction.
4. E-commerce and online shopping: AI helps to offer personalised shopping experiences by analysing customer preferences and providing tailored recommendations.
5. Healthcare: AI is used to support diagnoses, optimise treatment plans and advance research in areas such as genomics and personalised medicine.
6. Financial sector: AI tools assist with fraud detection, risk analysis and personalised financial advice. Automated trading systems also influence the financial markets.
7. Education and learning: Adaptive learning through AI enables personalised educational experiences, whereby learning content is tailored to the needs and pace of individual students.
8. Workplace: AI automation is being used in many industries and is changing the way work is done, leading to increased efficiency but also posing challenges for job security.
9. Security and surveillance: Facial recognition and other AI-powered surveillance technologies are being used in public and private spaces, raising privacy and ethical concerns.

In all these areas, AI brings both opportunities and challenges, particularly with regard to data protection, ethical considerations and the potential impact on the labour market. Striking a balance between exploiting the advantages of AI and dealing with its implications is an important topic in the current social debate.

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These were all areas of application over which individuals have little or no direct influence. Now we wanted to know:

What AI applications are available for private users, i.e. you, and what can they do?

ChatGPT: AI applications have a wide range of functions that are accessible to private users. Here are some notable examples:

1. Personal assistantsSmart assistants such as Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa can answer questions, set reminders, control smart home devices, play music and more.
2. Speech recognition and conversionApplications such as Google Speech-to-Text and Dragon NaturallySpeaking convert spoken language into text and are used for dictation, transcription and as an aid for people with physical disabilities.
3. recommendation systemsThese are widely used on online platforms such as Netflix, Spotify and Amazon to provide personalised recommendations for films, music, products and more, based on previous user behaviour.
4. Image and facial recognitionApplications such as Google Photos utilise AI to categorise images and recognise faces, simplifying the organisation and search of photo albums.
5. Chatbots and virtual customer servicesMany websites use chatbots to provide customer support, answer frequently asked questions and guide users.
6. Automated translation softwareServices such as Google Translate and DeepL offer the possibility to translate texts and websites into different languages, which facilitates communication and understanding of foreign-language content.
7. Fitness and health appsApplications such as Fitbit and MyFitnessPal utilise AI to analyse fitness and nutrition data and provide personalised recommendations.
8. AI-assisted photo editingApps such as Adobe Photoshop are increasingly using AI to assist with image editing, for example through automatic colour correction or object removal.
9. Autonomous vehicle technologiesWhile fully autonomous driving is still under development, many modern cars are already equipped with AI-supported features such as lane departure warning systems and automatic emergency braking.
10. Security and surveillanceAI systems are used in home security systems to detect unusual activity and trigger alarms.

These applications demonstrate how AI is being integrated into everyday activities to make life more convenient, safer and more entertaining. They range from relatively simple tasks such as recommending a song to complex tasks such as assisting with driving a car.

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Many of us have already used AI – perhaps without knowing that artificial intelligence was behind it.

In the next episode, you will learn how you can have texts created free of charge. You have already been able to get an impression of the ChatGPT language quality in this article. So look forward to episode 2 in a few days.