Artificial intelligence
A borderless journey?
The streaming service recommends the ‘right’ series, the smartphone recognises the face and search engines are becoming increasingly precise. Smart family members such as Alexa, Siri and Co. have now moved into many homes. For some, the home is even fully smart.
And professionally? Artificial intelligence (AI) helps as an interpreter, navigator, image creator and preparer of presentations, among other things.
What can AI do? Is it better than human intelligence? We dared to test ourselves and asked ChatGPT - the AI that has been on everyone's lips and on many smartphones since the beginning of 2023 - the following:
In 1872, a lot of things happened in the world. Yellowstone National Park was founded and the metric system was introduced in the then German Empire as a system of units for measuring length and weight. Karl Ludwig Nessler was born - the inventor of the perm.
What did not happen in 1872, however, is that Blumenbecker was founded in 1922. Only ChatGPT itself probably knows where it got this information. The other information about Blumenbecker, on the other hand, is correct.
So how reliable and trustworthy are the answers? We talked to Dr Christian Temath, managing director of the competence platform KI.NRW, about opportunities and challenges in the application of 'AI as a popular sport'.
About Dr Christian Temath
Dr Christian Temath has been managing director of the KI.NRW competence platform since September 2020 and works at Fraunhofer IAIS in Sankt Augustin with his team to establish the 'AI made in NRW' brand and strengthen the technological sovereignty of NRW. As a doctor of business informatics, he has many years of experience in management consulting in the field of technology as well as in the practical application of AI technologies at an international e-commerce company.
Do you use ChatGPT?
What was your last input command?
Dr Christian Temath: Both out of personal interest and of course for my work, I regularly use ChatGPT. Most recently, I tried out a plug-in that allows you to book hotels from chat. I combined this with the question whether ChatGPT knows ' Commissioner Dupin ' from Brittany - this is a crime book series, by the way - and if so, which cities are particularly significant in this book series. ChatGPT told me four cities, including Concarneau. I then asked for suitable hotels in this city, which were checked for availability in real time via the plug-in. I could also have booked a room directly. It is really exciting to see what is now possible with ChatGPT.
ChatGPT is a language model and is based on probabilities. How do I know that the answers are true?
Dr Christian Temath: You raise an important point here: ChatGPT is a language model, but not a knowledge model. The lack of factual fidelity is therefore still a major shortcoming. I say still, because work is currently being done to eliminate this problem, for example by connecting it to the Internet and other knowledge databases. My ChatGPT search query mentioned at the beginning shows that a lot has already been done here. Nevertheless, for us users it still means that we have to critically question and revise the texts of ChatGPT. Because although the results often sound good and plausible, their content is simply wrong. To make matters worse, ChatGPT does not provide sources for its answers, which makes it difficult for users to check the information and thus recognise whether it is true or false.
What are the most important applications of AI from today's perspective?
Dr Christian Temath: To start with, we at KI.NRW are of the opinion that AI is there to help - whether in coping with the shortage of skilled workers or as a booster for sustainability: As things stand today, the lack of skilled personnel means that certain topics can no longer be dealt with or that individual employees are burdened with more and more activities. And it is precisely these people who will gradually retire in the next few years. We have dealt intensively with the second major complex of topics ' AI and sustainability ' in recent years. We have identified examples of how AI can save 10 to 20 percent of energy in building energy management - for example, in ventilation and heating settings. Artificial intelligence provides similar support in resource consumption or food production. If bakeries produce too many baked goods, for example, they are thrown away at the end of the day. This can be avoided through better forecasting using AI.
In addition to the example from retail, other best practices can also be cited from production, where thanks to AI, tool wear can be determined in real time and costs can be saved through predictive maintenance. In the area of logistics, AI-based route planning can reduce travel times and thus CO2 emissions.
What is the biggest challenge for companies in dealing with AI? What do you recommend to companies?
Dr Christian Temath: Many entrepreneurs have already realised that they cannot avoid artificial intelligence. Large companies in particular are already using AI or developing it themselves. But more needs to happen with SMEs. It is often not clear to companies what artificial intelligence is exactly, where the opportunities and challenges lie, which are important for a trustworthy use of artificial intelligence. There is still a high degree of mystification and uncertainty. At the same time, the speed of technological developments of AI models is currently very high. Those who completely ignore this development will find it difficult to catch up with the lead and quality level of other companies in the next two to three years. That's why entrepreneurs should actively deal with it now and ask themselves: ‘What can AI do and where are the limits? And what should AI do in my specific context?’
So I recommend that companies have the courage to get involved with artificial intelligence and start their AI journey. To this end, KI.NRW has specific offers for companies that are available free of charge. These include, for example, initial advisory services such as the 'KI.Schnellstart', the 'KI.Sprechstunde', but also the introductory lecture 'KI.Kick-off'. There are also concrete workshop formats such as the 'AI Design Sprint™', in which AI concepts are developed. And in the 'AI.Shadowing' format, AI experts go into companies and observe processes and procedures in order to identify, evaluate and utilise AI potential. But regardless of which industry a company belongs to, the following applies: for the use of AI to be successful, it is important to understand AI as a team sport in which all employees are involved.
