Earlier this year, several Belgian IT journalists paid a lot of attention to NextGen AI or the new generation of artificial intelligence. The tone of the articles: NextGen AI is becoming a disruptive threat to many professions, from teachers and lawyers to communications specialists. Just a little explanation here.

Most of us will certainly have read about ChatGTP, a product from the company OpenAI, in which Microsoft in particular invests a lot of money. This is an example of what I call NextGen AI. The original AI tools are based on the so-called “Artificial Narrow Intelligence” and were mainly used to automate tasks or create schedules. But NextGen AI wants to go one step further and aims for “Artificial General Intelligence”.

There the intelligent power lies much broader and deeper. If you ask the right questions, you can have texts written, create CVs, draw up contracts or answer a letter of complaint. So it no longer works like a classic search engine (think Google or Bing) where you get a series of “links” in response to the questions you ask. No, NextGen AI immediately provides you with a full text that seems ready to use. “Appears” because that’s where the shoe pinches.

productivity gains

In its current version, ChatGTP can certainly bring productivity gains to a communication consultant. Those who don’t use it will certainly be at a disadvantage compared to those who use it. Even if it’s just to save time. Starting with a text that has already been ‘prescribed’ by a series of instructions will lead to a final finished text more quickly.

This means that human intervention is still required to proofread the texts and correct or supplement them if necessary. Sander Duivenstein and Thijs Pepping, researchers at Sogeti Labs, wrote in an opinion piece in the Dutch NRC that there is a big difference between a calculator and Chat GTP. The results of a computer are deterministic, those of the NextGen AI are probabilistic. If you enter the same sum into your calculator, the result is always the same.

I myself already have ChatGTP on my second screen in the office by default.

Kris Poté, Director at C² and Vice President at Capgemini Belgium

This is not the case with ChatGTP (and similar technologies). It depends on the context you put in it. So it depends on how you phrase your question. NextGen AI will use artificial intelligence (i.e. probabilistic) to provide the most likely outcome, and this may be different each time. “ChatGTP understands nothing and is like a parrot that produces coincidences,” say the two researchers.

human correction

That is precisely why human correction is still necessary. So you need to know what you are doing and have expertise. ChatGTP is, for example, a useful aid when it comes to storytelling or creating a press release. But technology is evolving at breakneck speed. It is certain that the next-generation AI will gain strength, learn more and more independently, and become much more perfect. Just think of developments like Deep Fake and the Metaverse that are based on AI and next-gen AI. So, as knowledge workers, we better keep an eye on that. I would say keep a close eye on developments.

I myself already have ChatGTP on my second screen in the office by default, as do many other consultants. Who says this blog about NextGen AI wasn’t written by ChatGTP? I’ll let you guess…

This is a contribution from Kris Poté, Director at C² and Vice President at Capgemini Belgium