2023: The Year AI Took the Spotlight and Shook the World! Dive into the most thrilling AI events of the year with NeoEra Vision’s ultimate roundup.
Undoubtedly, 2023 emerged as the year dominated by artificial intelligence (AI). Collins Dictionary crowned AI as its Word of the Year, characterizing AI-powered language models as having “burst into the public consciousness” and being “much talked about” throughout the year.
Wikipedia, the internet’s encyclopedia, revealed that ChatGPT, a leading AI chatbot, claimed the title of its most viewed English page of the year, garnering a staggering 49.5 million views.
AI dominated everyone’s attention this year, yet keeping pace with the technology’s rapid advancements was no easy feat.
We decided to take a look back at 2023 through the eyes of AI, covering key developers, new regulations, cultural impacts, and the notable clashes and scandals.
Let’s begin..
Progression and Developers
The modern AI age began on Nov. 30, 2022, when OpenAI released its AI chatbot ChatGPT for free. It became widely popular, with around 100 million users weekly in 2023. In March, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT 4, its most powerful model yet, rumored to run on 1.76 trillion parameters.
Despite being a nonprofit, OpenAI’s revenue surged alongside the popularity of ChatGPT. In 2022, the company reported $28 million in revenue, which skyrocketed to an astounding $1 billion in 2023.
This event triggered a race among industry tech giants to deploy and create the most powerful models for market dominance.
In March 2023, Google launched Bard, its counterpart to ChatGPT. Initially rooted in Google’s LaMDA family of large language models (LLMs), it underwent upgrades to PaLM and ultimately Gemini—its most potent model to date—unveiled in December.
In July, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, introduced its high-level LLM named Llama 2. Microsoft rolled out its Bing AI chat in February 2023, initially integrated into the Bing and Edge browser, later rebranded as Copilot in September.
Startup Anthropic unveiled its Claude AI model in March, swiftly followed by Claude 2 in July. Anthropic secured substantial investments in 2023, notably receiving $2 billion from Google.
Statista projects the AI market to reach $241.8 billion in 2023, with an expected annual growth rate of 17.3% by 2030.
Regulations
Every significant breakthrough with global societal impact attracts the attention of regulators. Over the past year, governments worldwide have engaged in discussions about regulating AI, although only a few have enacted laws.
Member States of the European Union (EU)
The European Union boldly led the way by passing the EU AI Act, shaping rules for high-level AI models. Proposed in April 2023, it swiftly gained approval in June. Negotiators from the European Parliament and Council sealed the deal on Dec. 8, making it a groundbreaking move in AI regulation.
The EU AI Act oversees the government’s use of AI in biometric surveillance, puts regulations in place for substantial AI systems such as ChatGPT, and establishes transparency rules that developers must adhere to before entering the market.
As the EU hurried to be the first supranational body to regulate AI, it encountered resistance from local EU tech alliances. The initial regulations in June prompted an open letter from 160 tech executives, urging EU regulators to reconsider the strict rules in favor of fostering innovation.
Lothar Determann, a partner at Baker McKenzie, Palo Alto, and the author of Determann’s Field Guide to Artificial Intelligence Law, shared:
“The EU is trying hard to be first to regulate AI, but France and other member states lament the fact that they wish instead Europe would be first to innovate.”
Regarding the recent buzz around the finalization of the EU AI Act on Dec. 9, Lothar Determann remarked, “Various concerns and disagreements have been raised. For now, the EU AI Act remains ‘vaporware.'”
United States (US)
The United States has not yet officially implemented any regulations. Nonetheless, on Oct. 30, the Biden Administration issued an executive order outlining six new standards for AI safety and security, along with its commitment to promoting ethical AI usage within the government.
Industry insiders view Biden’s executive order as “certainly challenging for companies and developers,” especially in the open-source community, where the order was less direct. Lothar Determann emphasized that, amid discussions about potential new AI laws, organizations should concentrate on meeting compliance requirements and addressing risk mitigation under existing laws.
China
China moved swiftly to put regulations in place. The Chinese government initially released guidelines in April, which were subsequently relaxed before officially taking effect on Aug. 15.
In October, China took further steps by releasing draft security regulations for companies providing generative AI services. These regulations included restrictions on the data sources used for training AI models.
The regulations served as a catalyst for increased local development. Following the issuance of the initial rules, the CEO of Chinese tech giant Baidu reported that over 70 AI models had already been released in the country.
On a global scale, the United Nations launched an international initiative to address challenges in AI governance. In November, the United Kingdom hosted the world’s first-ever AI Safety Summit, drawing high-profile guests. Additionally, the Group of Seven (G7) countries released an official AI code of conduct.
The Impact on Arts and Culture
In 2023, the influence of AI has permeated various facets of contemporary living, including the realms of arts and culture.
This year witnessed the emergence and enhancement of some of the most robust AI-generated tools available. Midjourney launched its latest iteration, Version 6, and OpenAI’s Dall-E underwent a refresh alongside the latest ChatGPT upgrade.
As we entered November, Meta introduced some cool AI-powered tools that jazzed up how we create videos and tweak images on social media. Now, let’s dive into the music scene of 2023, where AI shook things up big time. Major players like Meta and Google, along with some independent talents, unveiled a bunch of nifty AI music tools that made waves in the industry.
April marked a noteworthy moment in the music world when Grimes, the artist, made headlines. She boldly declared that she’d share a generous 50% of the royalties with creators using AI to produce music with her vocals. As if that weren’t enough, Grimes took it a step further and introduced elf.tech, an open-source software program. This platform was all about legally reproducing her voice for AI-driven music creation.
Yet, Grimes’ move didn’t win unanimous support in the industry. Major global labels, including Universal Music Group, actively sought out creators who might be infringing on artists’ rights by illicitly utilizing AI voice replication.
The Grammys set rules for AI music to be considered for nominations, aiming to protect the creative and music communities, as highlighted by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
However, one of the most memorable moments in the music industry occurred in November when Universal Music released the Beatles’ last song, “Now and Then,” with AI’s assistance in producing John Lennon’s vocals.
Legal Actions
Numerous copyright-related legal actions were initiated in 2023 by artists and creatives, alleging that AI models were unlawfully trained on their works. These legal disputes have implicated major developers such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
Once again, in July, Google found itself entangled in a class-action lawsuit. This legal action accused the tech giant of violating the privacy and property rights of millions of internet users. The lawsuit specifically pointed to Google’s updated privacy policy, which introduced data scraping capabilities for AI training purposes, sparking concerns and legal repercussions.
In a parallel development, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists concluded its strike following negotiations that resulted in an agreement regarding AI usage in productions. The strike, lasting for 118 days, marked one of the longest in the union’s history. Despite reaching a resolution, Hollywood remained divided on the terms of the agreement.
OpenAI’s Leadership Reshuffle
Late in November, OpenAI made waves in the industry, and it wasn’t because of a new product launch. The co-founder and CEO, Sam Altman, was abruptly removed from the company in a surprising decision by the board of directors, leaving both fans and investors astonished.
The community, including investors, users, and company staff members, was caught off guard and angered by the decision. More than half of OpenAI’s employees expressed their readiness to resign in response.
However, two days later, after Microsoft responded by hiring Altman, OpenAI reinstated him as CEO and replaced the board. The initial cause of the firing remains unclear.
Gemini’s False Promotion Video and the Rise of Deepfakes
Google recently launched a significant update to its AI model called Gemini. This upgraded version comes in three variations: nano, pro, and ultra. The AI community had been eagerly anticipating this release, with rumors suggesting it could outperform OpenAI’s GPT-4, earning it the nickname “GPT killer.”
Upon its release, Google accompanied Gemini with flashy videos showcasing its capabilities. However, sharp-eyed internet users quickly observed that Gemini did not live up to the hype, prompting criticism directed at Google. In response, the tech company explained that it had embellished its marketing for the sake of “brevity.”
In 2023, a more concerning form of deception emerged with the widespread occurrence of AI-generated deep fakes. SumSub’s data revealed a tenfold surge in the prevalence of deep fakes across various industries worldwide, marking a substantial increase from 2022 to 2023.
Amidst the highs and lows of AI in 2023, noteworthy events caught the attention of even the Pope, prompting him to share his perspective on the matter.
As this technology continues to evolve rapidly, 2024 will surely be equally jam-packed and exciting. Stay tuned for our 2024 AI predictions from industry insiders on what to expect in the coming year.
