The Georgia State Senate has created a new committee to study artificial intelligence (AI). Of course, the jokes are almost self-inflicted. As a long-time follower of the Georgia Legislature, I don't think it's long before an AI starts studying the state senate. God only knows what it will find.
As we all know, AI is a revolutionary new technology that has already infiltrated almost every part of the world's life. It also scares many people. Will AI take over jobs currently performed by humans? Will AI bring about revolutionary changes to our society and lives? Will we need an Arnold Schwarzenegger to make an appearance to stop AI from completely taking over and wiping out humanity? (My answers are yes, yes, and maybe.)
Here at Trouble in God's Country LLC (I added LLC at the behest of my lawyers), we're naturally curious to see how AI will affect life in rural Georgia. In fact, I'm vaguely optimistic that AI won't make things too bad in most of the state's rural areas.
My vague optimism is rooted in the well-known fact that we humans are really bad at predicting how new technologies will affect things. Thomas Watson, IBM's legendary CEO about a century ago, is widely quoted as saying that there might be a market for about five computers in the world. That's how many we have in our house.
When cell phones first came out in the 1980s, I worked for BellSouth Corp. (now part of AT&T). My memory is that BellSouth and others in the industry thought that the market for cell phones was probably limited — only executives and professionals would be able to afford them. That was also a mistake.
The Senate AI Research Committee is made up of six members, five of whom represent metro Atlanta districts. The only one from rural Georgia is Rep. Max Barnes, a Republican from Sylvania. I thought it would be interesting to hear from Barnes about how AI will impact rural Georgia life, so I reached out to the Senate Press Office to see if we could set up a quick interview. Unfortunately, Barnes was too busy to speak with me. So, faced with a rebuff from Barnes and a tight deadline, I wondered how to flesh out this week's column, and after fumbling around for a while, I came up with a solution: interview an AI app.
I went to ChatGPT’s website and asked a simple question: ‘How will AI impact the lives of people in rural Georgia?’ Within seconds, I received an impressive 532-word response covering agriculture, healthcare, education, economic development, infrastructure and services, environmental protection, and a short list of potential issues.
Among other developments, ChatGPT believes that AI will enable:
• “It helps farmers optimize crop yields by providing real-time data on soil conditions, weather patterns and crop health.”
• “Enhancing telemedicine services and facilitating remote consultations, diagnosis and monitoring to improve access to healthcare for rural residents.”
• “We provide a personalized learning experience that meets each student's individual needs and learning style.”
ChatGPT acknowledged that AI “has the potential” to automate some jobs, but argued that it can also “create new opportunities in technology and services, such as AI maintenance and support work.”
My initial cynical reaction to the last part of that sentence was, “Wow, future generations of rural Georgia people are going to be working for AI.” But the truth is, and always has been. The advent and evolution of computing gave birth to the information technology sector, which is now one of the largest and fastest growing employment sectors in the country. AI will almost certainly hit this sector like rocket fuel. Therein lies the challenge and opportunity I would like the Senate Study Committee to focus on.
At a recent hearing, the Committee heard from representatives of Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Georgia, and Georgia State University. While that testimony was certainly the right start, I would like to see the Committee consider the role of the state’s regional universities and technical colleges in preparing students across the state for AI-related careers. It will likely be these universities and technical colleges that will educate and prepare much of the AI force that will be needed to build and manage AI-related systems across the state. Starting to think about what those careers are and how we integrate that with this rapidly evolving new technology should be at least part of the job of the Senate Investigative Committee.
With any luck, you won't need to call Arnold to help you out.
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