At the Reimagine Pharma Conference from Momentum Events in May, Alec Melkonian explored the AI adoption curve, discussing whether we're at the peak of inflated expectations or moving into the productivity phase, while highlighting the rapid pace of technological adoption and the need to address trust and societal impacts as we leverage AI's full potential 💡
At the recent Reimagine Pharma conference, I spoke about some intriguing aspects (at least, I think they’re intriguing) of AI and its adoption curve, focusing on understanding where we may stand in the hype cycle and how it mirrors previous technological advancements. The AI hype curve questions whether we are at the peak of inflated expectations or have moved into the productivity phase. Historical parallels, such as the initial use of television to broadcast radio shows and the early internet’s posting of 30-second TV commercials, highlight a recurring pattern: when groundbreaking technologies emerge, we often use them in familiar ways rather than fully leveraging their unique capabilities. A fascinating consideration in this iteration of tech evolution is the wildly increasing speed of adoption. Consider ChatGPT, which reached 100 million users in just two months, compared to the years it took for Netflix and Instagram to achieve similar milestones. This rapid adoption leads to unprecedented change and poses new challenges, particularly around trust and societal impact. The adoption rates of technologies like ChatGPT are indeed remarkable, yet they bring to light trust issues that we would be smart to address. Just as we saw with the issues highlighted in the “Social Dilemma” documentary, the rapid integration of new tech into our daily lives can have profound implications for our social fabric. Engineers at OpenAI are openly stating that they don’t really understand the impact of the code they’re launching, and no one understands the impact of increasingly powerful models. I’m not talking about Skynet, I’m thinking more about this as a slow outsourcing of thinking and creativity. While it’s easy to focus on the skyscrapers we can build with these new technologies, we must also consider the foundations they rest upon. As we continue to explore and harness AI's potential, it’s essential to balance innovation with thoughtful consideration of its broader impact. I’m looking forward to discussing these ideas further and hearing everyone’s thoughts on where you think we are on the AI hype curve.
Senior Director of Content and Experience at Momentum Events
2wAmazing session Alec! Thank you so much