Welcome to Data Science Dojo’s weekly newsletter, “The Data-Driven Dispatch“.
As soon as generative AI made its entry, the fearmongers exceeded the people who appreciated the technology. Fears of a robotic apocalypse and AI taking away all the jobs freaked out everyone. Read more
But just a year later, the narrative has shifted dramatically from dystopian fears to optimistic visions of a better world, thanks to the potential of AI for social good.
Indeed, the promise of generative AI to improve society is substantial.
McKinsey reports that AI now boasts over 600 use cases that could significantly advance the United Nations’ sustainable development goals—a sharp increase from the 170 use cases identified before 2018, with 80% of these new applications already deployed.
Let’s explore how the generative capabilities of AI are set to make a positive impact.
The Scope of Generative AI for Social Good
Artificial Intelligence is poised to enhance social well-being, but with generative AI, we’re aiming even higher.
This technology is being utilized to address all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals—from eradicating poverty to fostering sustainable cities and ensuring quality education for all.
Read more: How is AI Beneficial to Society – Are We Using It Right?
Benefits of AI in Education
Generative AI will impact the education system as a whole whereby the lives of students, teachers, administrators, and course creators will be largely affected.
How Generative AI Can Help People with Disabilities
Generative AI also promises to revolutionize support for about 1.3 billion people with disabilities, who have historically been overlooked by many organizational initiatives.
Despite ongoing labor shortages, unemployment among capable individuals with disabilities remains high at 80%.
Generative AI platforms, like OurAbility, are helping these individuals secure employment by leveraging AI-powered chatbots to assist in job searches and application processes.
Read more: Designing Generative AI to Work for People with Disabilities
Challenges and Risks of Scaling AI for Social Good
Scaling AI for social good is fraught with challenges. The main hurdles include:
- Data Challenges: There’s a crucial need for accessible, high-quality data to effectively deploy AI.
- Talent Scarcity: There is a shortage of AI professionals available to social organizations.
- Organizational Resistance: Many organizations struggle with the adoption and integration of new AI technologies.
Moreover, the potential for AI to generate inaccurate outputs, propagate biases, spread misinformation, and be used maliciously adds significant risk, particularly in not-for-profit sectors concerned with socio-economic impacts such as job displacement.
Read more: Challenges Associated with Large Language Models
Benefits of AI in Healthcare
Generative AI is set to transform healthcare with predictions of impacting the sector by as much as $1 trillion.
Here’s a great discussion where Dr. Harvey Castro, MD, MBA., Author of AI in Healthcare, discusses the transformative potential, particularly in emergency medicine, illustrating how AI like ChatGPT can aid in diagnostics and treatment planning.
When you’re overqualified for the job requirements… 😅
Master Generative AI to Bring Positive Change in Society
The demand for skilled AI professionals is surging. Now is the perfect time to advance your career in this field. Dive into our expert roadmap, covering essential areas to master on your path to success in AI.
Read more: The Journey to LLM Expertise – Dominating 9 Essential Domains
Upcoming AI Conferences
We’re excited to be a part of #DataCloudDevDay on June 6 in San Francisco! Get the latest in AI/ML, join a GenAI bootcamp, and connect with thousands of other builders. Register for free
Let’s end this week with some attention-grabbing headlines in the AI-verse.
- OpenAI releases GPT-4o, a faster model that’s free for all ChatGPT users. Read more
- Google has a whole lot of AI news coming out of its developer-focused I/O conference. Read more
- Meta is shutting down Workplace, its enterprise communications business. Read more
- Apple is finalizing a deal with OpenAI to put ChatGPT on the iPhone, while talks with Google to use Gemini are ongoing. Read more
- Instagram’s co-founder is Anthropic’s new chief product officer. Read more
