That innovation that, although it sounds futuristic, is already part of our daily lives, and thanks to giants like OpenAI and Meta, it has become more tangible and closer to us. For decades, we have been told that one day computers could think for themselves, have deep conversations with us, and even feel emotions. While we are still a long way from that reality, in recent years we have taken giant steps in that direction.
ChatGPT
OpenAI, with its ChatGPT, has achieved something impressive: talking to a machine feels almost like chatting to a friend. You don’t need to be a tech expert to interact; you just type what you think and get a response that, surprisingly, makes a lot of sense. I remember when assistants like Siri or Google Assistant came along. They were interesting, but they didn’t quite fit in. Only the most curious were encouraged to try them out, and although some people used them on a daily basis, they did not manage to connect massively with people.
Attempts were made to bring these assistants closer to us by changing the robotic voices for others that were friendlier and more familiar, but this was not enough. Although the Google Assistant seemed quite intelligent, answering almost any question thanks to its ability to index the web, it failed to become a topic of conversation at the family dinner table. There was always an invisible barrier between us and the machine, and that feeling of talking to something non-human kept us at a distance. Any small error in pronunciation reminded us that we were, after all, still talking to a machine.
But OpenAI broke that barrier with ChatGPT. Now, you simply type whatever comes to mind, and the AI responds, without the need for magic formulas like ‘OK Google’. This openness makes it much more accessible, and the best thing is that ChatGPT always understands you, no matter if you mix languages, use idioms or are just straightforward. Every interaction is unique and surprising.
AI at the fingertips of millions
Now, Meta has gone one step further by bringing this AI to WhatsApp, making it available to millions of people around the world. No longer do you need to look in some hidden corner of your phone to find it; now it’s there, among the chats of your mother, your son or your best friend.
AI has become so accessible that it almost seems like just another contact on our list. We can no longer ignore it, it is present in our lives and, whether we like it or not, we will have to learn to live with it.
