How AI might transform the internet as we know it

TED ventured into the world of AI in October, with the TEDAI conference. Held in Vienna, one of the key themes that emerged was how this ever-evolving technology will revolutionise the creative, digital media, and educational sectors.

Speaking at the TEDAI conference, Selena Deckelmann, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Wikimedia Foundation, said that ‘AI increases creativity in all kinds of dimensions.’ She continued to note that ‘I have faith in human beings to take in what’s changing and hopefully come together in many different ways to think about the best ways for us to use these technologies to actually improve life.’

Deckelmann’s optimism is refreshing in a climate where scrutiny over the potential dangers of AI appears to be eclipsing the discourse surrounding how it will revolutionise our ability to express and educate ourselves. We must remember that as much as we need to be cognisant of its risks, and we mustn’t be afraid to accept that it is going to fundamentally change how we practice education and creativity.

In essence, Deckelmann’s perspective is that AI is a creative enabler. This can certainly be the case. AI-powered tools like image, video, or content generators can spark new forms of expression and problem-solving. For example, Adobe recently announced Adobe Firefly, a free service that gives creators access to features like generative fill that creates richer, more photorealistic images using text to image prompts to cater directly to their needs.

For independent small businesses who, in the past, could not afford a graphic designer or to purchase a content library, this could revolutionise how they create marketing materials, and as such is a further step to democratising cutting-edge marketing techniques.

Tech entrepreneur, Rotem Farkash, recently emphasised this as point of democratising business development. Farkash explained that ‘as an entrepreneur I know how challenging it can be for small businesses to create the content pool they need to grow and expand, and products like Adobe Firefly are a fantastic way to give entrepreneurs this ability in a way that doesn’t eat into margins that are already very fine.’

One of the biggest challenges that social media companies have faced in recent times is the authentication of content to ensure that mis and disinformation is not being disseminated on their platforms. AI is an excellent tool to ensure content reliability.

At TEDAI, Laurant Buanec, a country manager at X, pointed to the platforms community notes feature that is successfully monitoring content to ensure that AI-sponsored fake news, and fake news more generally is flagged as such.

Currently community notes are a human-led feature. The use of AI within this feature could dramatically enhance the depth and breadth of community notes. Equally, AI algorithms can be used on platforms like X or Facebook to demote fake news while amplifying verified content.

Education is another element of AI development that we must embrace. Our relationship with education is going to fundamentally change, and the number of people who have access to the highest level of education will exponentially increase in the years ahead.

Though, this is a double-edged sword. We need digital literacy programs to upskill people so that they know how to extract the most from AI platforms first, and then it can be deployed in the educational environment.

At TEDAI, Victor Riparbelli, CEO & Co-Founder, of text-video AI platform, Synthesia, said that AI ‘is going to take us some time to evolve with the technology, but education will be very valuable in helping us to understand it.’

Companies like Duolingo have already began implementing AI to enhance their product offering. In March 2024 they announced that they had partnered with OpenAI to insert Chat GPT-4 that gives users access to two new features that explain answers in real time and for role play. This is a prime example of the potential AI has to enhance learning.

Indeed, in developing economies with remote communities where access to education is difficult, delivering educational facilities through AI devices could be both quicker and cheaper.

Whilst we are right to be cautious concerning the development of AI and its potential negative consequences, in recent months the fear of these potential issues have concealed the incredible possibilities in the worlds of creativity, digital media and education.

It is critical that there is a continued dialogue between technologists, innovators, users, and policymakers to ensure that AI is developed in a way that continues to enhance offerings for entrepreneurs, digital media, and education, while preserving its integrity.

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How AI might transform the internet as we know it