The XXI century is the century of technology. Now not only technologies are developing, but also artificial intelligence. Although this worries most experts, some industry representatives are calling for vigilance. So, is artificial intelligence really the reason why some professions will disappear? Why do most of these programs not work in Uzbekistan? What is the problem? With these and other questions, we turned to the founder of the NAZZAR project based on virtual reality technologies and the head of the advisory council on Artificial Intelligence, Bobur Rakhimov.
- Artificial intelligence is getting smarter every day. An example of this is ChatGPT. This versatile chatbot can now compete with humans for ingenuity and communication skills. So can he take the place of a person in the future?
- If we look deeper into history, every technological innovation caused fear in society. This is the usual attitude of people who see new inventions. Physiologically, our brain is designed in such a way that it looks at it as a danger, because it is not used to something new. It is known from history that almost all inventions used in the peaceful direction somehow increased comfort and quality of life.
Therefore, if artificial intelligence is not given any human qualities, if it is treated as a really desirable tool, everything will fall into place. I am sure that artificial intelligence can make a huge contribution to the country's economy if it is used intelligently and intelligently.
According to forecasts of analytical agencies, by 2030 artificial intelligence will bring several trillion dollars of profit to the world economy. According to experts, more than half of the growth is due to an increase in labor productivity, and the rest of the profit is due to an increase in consumer demand, due to the improvement of goods with the help of artificial intelligence. Our task is to ensure that Uzbekistan does not lag behind this process, it is important to continue working to improve the level of preparation for the introduction of artificial intelligence in the country.
- There is no way to use ChatGPT in Uzbekistan. This creates difficulties for most Uzbeks. What determines availability?
– As far as I know, the availability of OpenAI products, including ChatGPT, worldwide is determined by two factors. This is the internal policy of the company, gradual access to which is opened by country, and this process continues. On the other hand, the policy of states that may impose a ban on the use of OpenAI products, examples include countries such as China, Italy.
- Why are similar social networks and programs not being created in Uzbekistan? What is the problem?
- Many people mistakenly think that ChatGPT was created in a short time. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has been engaged in research in the field of artificial intelligence for more than 8 years. ChatGPT was created using the GPT-3 architecture.5. In 2018, the first GPT (Generative pre-trained Transformer) based on the Transformer architecture was released. In 2019, GPT-2 was introduced. She was the first model capable of creating human-quality text. Then in 2020, GPT-3 was released, which is considered the largest and most complex model in the world of artificial intelligence.
To create ChatGPT, experienced artificial intelligence specialists were involved, significant funds were invested in research and development. For example, Microsoft has invested about $1 billion in OpenAI. In addition, large amounts of data were used to train the model, which also took a lot of time and money.
Uzbekistan is currently actively developing the digital economy, training highly qualified personnel. Despite significant progress in the industry, it will still take us some time to create ChatGPT-like products.
Talents in this direction are only being formed in our country. When strong cadres are formed and achieve recognition at the world level, they also receive investments for the implementation of such gigantic projects.
- Who in the future may lose or change their profession due to the development of artificial intelligence?
- Forecasts that many professions may lose their jobs can be read in the news. In fact, in the future, the development of AI may lead to changes in various professions, while the demand for some will decrease, while others will change or become more important.
Jobs that are performed monotonously, do not require creativity and are prone to automation may change gradually. For example, voice chatbots based on artificial intelligence can take the place of telephone operators, text-generation systems - copywriters and marketers who create text content, and image-generating systems - some graphic designers. The development of self-driving vehicles is likely to reduce the demand for the driver's profession. Nevertheless, operators working with neural networks, support specialists of these systems and many other new professions may also appear.
I also think that the demand for professionals who can use artificial intelligence tools and techniques, such as machine learning, neural networks and natural language analysis, will continue to grow.
- According to statistics, cyber attacks occur every ten seconds around the world. Do you think that such crimes are also caused by artificial intelligence software?
- In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of achievements in the field of artificial intelligence as a tool for conducting cyber attacks. For example, it is possible to use technologies such as human voice cloning, face image forgery (DeepFake) as tools for hacking biometric authentication protection. But artificial intelligence is not responsible for such cyber attacks and other crimes, because it is just a tool. Persons using artificial intelligence are responsible for committing a crime.
But we should not forget that the development of artificial intelligence also leads to the development of cybersecurity. Artificial intelligence applications can be used to detect and prevent cyber attacks. This allows you to quickly analyze large amounts of data. This can be used to monitor the network, detect abnormal behavior that could mean a cyber attack, block intruders and prevent data leakage.
In short, artificial intelligence has both positive and negative sides.
- What other results do you think artificial intelligence will achieve in 10 years?
- By 2030, artificial intelligence technologies will be significantly developed and widely used in various fields. Full automation of processes and optimization is achieved. This increases production efficiency and reduces costs. Artificial consciousness is actively used in such areas of medicine as the diagnosis of diseases, the development of new drugs.
Artificial intelligence helps to create flexible systems in education that take into account the individual characteristics of each student. The transport industry is developing passenger cars and trucks without a driver, which facilitate movement, reduce the risk of accidents.
However, along with the achievements in the industry, well-known risks are also increasing, such as job losses due to automation, threats to personal security due to the growth of cyber attacks. Systematic work is also being carried out to minimize negative consequences and ensure a favorable impact on human life.
- What recommendations would you give to others on the use of artificial intelligence programs?
- Currently, many applications and online services have been developed based on artificial intelligence technologies that can be used to solve specific tasks. For example, assistance in forming text or images on request, editing, analyzing documents, etc. But I don't think it's right to recommend any solution.
- Elon Musk and more than a thousand experts are calling for an end to experiments with artificial intelligence. How do you feel about this?
– Everyone has the right to express their opinion. Experts, including Elon Musk, are concerned about the development of artificial intelligence. This is not the first time Elon Musk has expressed concern about artificial intelligence. If we also pay attention to his previous thoughts, we can understand that he is more concerned with the creation and control of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), that is, intelligence capable of self-enrichment, adaptation to innovation, studying human intelligence. However, Elon Musk himself recently announced that he is working on a new project in the field of artificial intelligence. X.AI Corp. founded his own company. In addition, he was one of the founders of OpenAI. His company Tesla and the Neuralink project are also conducting research in the field of artificial intelligence.
Considering the above, I believe that the development of artificial intelligence, the termination of experiments in this area is the wrong decision. Because it has a huge potential for improving our lives, solving many complex problems.
Without stopping halfway, realizing the potential dangers, we must continue to develop artificial intelligence, as well as take measures to mitigate these risks. For example, we can develop principles and standards of ethics to minimize the negative consequences of using artificial intelligence. In addition, in the future we will be able to use artificial intelligence to solve complex problems related to such areas as the environment, health, education.
For example, in Uzbekistan, we also plan to introduce several solutions based on artificial intelligence technologies to solve problems in the field of education by 2025.
One of them is a digital tutor/tutor – a system based on artificial intelligence that helps to increase the efficiency of the learning process. The creation of such a system requires systematization, unification and normalization of information about users and knowledge. The main parts of the project are knowledge bases, and it includes various fields of study developed by the scientific community and methodologists.
A sign language translation system based on artificial intelligence technologies will be an important step in ensuring inclusiveness in education. Sign language translation systems include the conversion of natural language speech into sign language, text or speech. This ensures equal access to educational resources for students.
In addition, it is planned to introduce technologies for converting text-to-speech educational materials for students with visual problems.
In this we see that the advisory council on artificial intelligence plays an important role in the effective and conscious use of artificial intelligence in our society. The Council was established in August 2022 and currently consists of 8 foreign experts (India, China, Iran, UAE, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan) and 44 local specialists. Among them are representatives of ministries, industrial enterprises, banks, startups, scientific and expert circles, mass media, public organizations, as well as well-known public figures. One of the priorities of our council is to develop proposals on the ethics of artificial intelligence, taking into account specific aspects of our society. So instead of viewing AI as a threat, we need to make sure it can be used safely as well as ethically to make it a useful tool for our society.
- So, in the near future, the demand for personnel in the field of artificial intelligence will be high. What kind of work is being done to prepare the younger generation for this area?
- Of course, knowledge and experience are required. Let's assume that specialists in the field of information technology are representatives of the industry that is in the greatest demand today. The training of specialists focused on global demand should begin with school.
Our council pays special attention to education in the field of artificial intelligence. Together with Amity University in Tashkent, a free training course on artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) has been organized for teachers of informatics at public schools in Tashkent.
In addition, since 2021, training and research in the field of artificial intelligence will be organized at the bachelor's, master's, basic doctoral and doctoral levels. Quotas are increasing every year.
There are also opportunities for internships of young researchers abroad in the field of artificial intelligence. In this direction, competitions of startup projects are regularly held for our youth.
In addition, I visit universities, get acquainted with solutions created by students based on artificial intelligence technologies, and give my recommendations on their development. In order to increase the efficiency of similar work, it is planned to create a digital platform aimed at the interaction of experts of the advisory council on artificial intelligence and students studying in this industry.
