At the end of 2024, I posted this video (PT-BR):
It’s long (18 min, an aberration these days). In it, I superficially position myself on this Artificial Intelligence madness, AI from now on for simplicity.
My opinion hasn’t changed much, it has only matured. What was said is said. What I did after the launch of ChatGPT and others was to understand its role and that of similar technologies, the so-called generative ones, to then know what to do. The question I will try to answer (and probably fail) is:
As an IT professional, what should I do to stay updated in a world dominated by AI?
I like to base myself on good examples. The definition of “good example” is a topic for another article, but I will use the quote below:
Nixon went to China in 1972 and asked Prime Minister Chu Enlai about the impact of the French Revolution. The answer? “It’s too early to say.”
Source: Google it.
This was in 1972, and the French Revolution ended in 1799. And yes, I believe that this forced introduction of AI into everything is comparable to any defining moment in history, at least in a technological context, such as the personal computer, the internet, and then, social media.
In short, we are so enthusiastic about what we can do that we don’t stop to think if we should.
Does this mean the best thing is to wait and see what happens? I prefer to think that the preferable thing is not to draw hasty conclusions. Everything is still taking shape. You don’t need to think much to attest to that. Look at the scenario 2 years ago, then 1 year ago, and now. We’ve had a swarm of AI-based products that are goners, unfulfilled promises, all to keep the most interested public, in this case, investors and shareholders, keeping their hard-earned money financing such initiatives.
While we are flooded with so much yadda, yadda, you may want to understand the following about AI:
- Nowadays, it’s nothing more than Machine Learning (ML) with a new outfit, rebranded for the hipsters.
- ML has been around since my college days (and that was a while ago).
- ML has been delivered to us every day for a long time. Need examples?
- Google Maps/Waze.
- Google Lens.
- Code auto-completion in most IDEs (Visual Studio, JetBrains).
- Spell checkers.
- Any social media feed to micro-target ads to you.
- Advances in academic areas such as microbiology and genetics (I don’t understand much, but I have direct relatives in the area).
- All the geological advancements, drones, etc.
The “secret,” which is no secret at all, is to have a minimum understanding of what runs under the hood of AI to better judge the impact of every piece of news that comes out every second on technology portals and social media.
Staying updated isn’t about consuming everything that appears in front of you. Before that, you should refine your filter of what’s happening to know where to invest in what will make a difference for you as a professional.
And before you put “AI expert” or “AI first” on your LinkedIn profile, here’s my gentle opinion:
Little will change in the short term. Generative AIs only serve to generate noise and maintain the insane race of big brands to see which one will get the “I did it first” medal.
If you are using AI in your work (ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek), you are right if it is helping you, not doing the work for you.
If a generative AI can do your job, start looking for another kind of job, I mean now!
Try thinking of the ideal scenario as you being Tony Stark and your AI assistant being Jarvis (Friday in the more recent movies, nerds will get it). Jarvis does the dirty and time-consuming work, but the genius comes from Tony. He is the lever to make work that would take minutes instead of years, for example, simulation results.
And, to be very honest, we are quite far from that, but “far” these days can mean years, months, or even weeks.
We shall see.
Sincerely,
The author, moved by natural intelligence, lots of coffee, Google, and maybe just a little bit of Gemini.