Speaker
Description
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have been around for a long time, so what is behind the enormous amount of attention and capital now being directed towards large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google Gemini? This workshop will present some of the historical and technical background on these remarkable systems, including why neural networks were essentially ignored for decades by most AI researchers, how they finally started producing good results, and what discoveries have led to the most recent improvements. We will then discuss some of the surprising attributes of these systems, including the fact that the models do not contain copies of their training data and that designers themselves have no way of knowing what the models have learned. Finally, we will discuss what may lie ahead, including why many researchers believe we may now be on the path to artificial general intelligence and eventually to superintelligent machines. Practical elements of the workshop will include an introduction to what models are available for use now, what they are capable of, and tips for prompting these models to produce desirable output. Participants are encouraged to bring a digital device.
