We want to provide you with a few interesting facts found in the AI Index report from the Stanford Institute. The 2024 edition is the most comprehensive to date and comes at a critical time when the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on society has never been more significant. This year, the study has expanded its scope to cover key trends such as technical advances in AI, public perceptions of the technology, and geopolitical dynamics related to its development in greater detail. The AI Index report tracks, collects, distills, and visualizes data related to artificial intelligence. Our mission is to provide unbiased, rigorously vetted, wide-ranging data to enable policymakers, researchers, implementers, journalists, and the general public to develop a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the complex field of AI.
Here are the highlights we've curated for you
1. AI excels humans at some tasks, but not all
AI outperforms human performance in several benchmarks, including some in image classification, visual perception, and English comprehension. However, it lags in more complex tasks such as competition-level math, common sense and planning.
2. Industry continues to dominate frontier AI research
In 2023, industry has produced 51 significant machine learning models, while academia has only come up with 15. Also, 21 significant models resulted from industry-academia collaborations, a new record.
3. Spending on frontier models is increasing significantly
AI Index estimates that the cost of training state-of-the-art AI models is reaching unprecedented levels. For example, OpenAI's GPT-4 used $78 million worth of computing power to train, while Google's Gemini Ultra cost $191 million.
4. The U.S. leads China, the EU, and the U.K. as the leading source of top AI models
In 2023, 61 significant AI models originated from U.S.-based institutions, significantly exceeding the 21 from the European Union and 15 from China.
5. There is a lack of robust and standardised estimates of LLM responsibility
New research from AI Index reveals a significant lack of standardization in accountability AI reporting. Leading developers, including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, basically test their models against various benchmarks for responsible AI. This practice complicates efforts to systematically compare the risks and limitations of top AI models.
6. Investment in generative AI is growing rapidly
Despite a decline in overall private investment in AI last year, funding for generative AI has grown eightfold since 2022, reaching $25.2 billion. Major players in the generative AI space, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face, and Inflection, reported significant funding rounds.
7. The data shows: AI makes workers more productive and leads to higher quality work
In 2023, several studies evaluated the impact of AI on labor, showing that AI helps workers complete tasks faster and improve the quality of their work. These studies also demonstrated the potential of AI to bridge the skills gap between low- and high-skilled workers. However, other studies warn that using AI without proper supervision can lead to reduced productivity.
8. Scientific progress is accelerating further thanks to AI
In 2022, AI began to drive scientific discovery. In 2023, however, even more significant science-related applications of AI were launched, from AlphaDev, which makes algorithmic sorting more efficient, to GNoME, which facilitates the material discovery process.
9. The number of AI regulations in the United States is increasing sharply
The number of AI-related regulations in the United States has increased significantly over the past year and over the past five years. In 2023, there were 25 AI-related regulations, up from just one in 2016. Last year, the total number of AI-related regulations grew by 56.3%.
10. People around the world are more aware of the potential impact of AI, but are also becoming more nervous
Ipsos research shows that in the last year, the proportion of people who think AI will dramatically impact their lives in the next three to five years has risen from 60% to 66%. Furthermore, 52% express anxiety about AI-related products and services, an increase of 13 percentage points from 2022. In America, Pew data shows that 52% of Americans report feeling more anxious than excited about AI, an increase of 38% over 2022.
With each passing year, AI continues to shape the future of science, medicine and technology. The AI Index 2024 report provides an in-depth look at these trends, helping society better understand and adapt to the rapidly changing world of AI.
Source: Stanford University website, https://aiindex.stanford.edu/report/
