The previous ten years in tech have been dominated mainly by government scrutiny of big tech and a series of iterative upgrades of iconic goods like the iPhone. Not since 4G’s launch unleashed a flood of real-time apps like Uber and Airbnb has the tech world been dominated by new developments.
However, 2023 was a year unlike any other, with two significant discoveries taking centre stage.
1.Generative AI and ChatGPT
Although ChatGPT was officially introduced in November 2022, it was the biggest news of 2023 due to the surge of new ideas and intense interest in AI that it unleashed.
Most importantly, ChatGPT has made technology feel more human. Unlike Google, the internet, and other search engines, you can ask ChatGPT questions in the same natural language you would use in a conversation with a person, where you need to know precise terms and grammar to communicate with machines and get the best results. And the outcomes you receive are frequently so remarkably beneficial and excellent that they have taken the world by storm. In just two months after its introduction, in January 2023, ChatGPT broke the 100 million active user mark. It attracted its first million members in just five days. It’s getting close to 200 million now.
Because ChatGPT can sound so real, people occasionally mistake it for a more powerful machine than it is. It can even fool us into believing it’s brilliant, like science fiction AIs like Data from Star Trek, or frightening, akin to AIs in motion pictures like iRobot or The Terminator. But ChatGPT is very good at comprehending queries, swiftly scanning vast amounts of publically accessible material, and mimicking human voice patterns when delivering responses.
Large Language Models (LLMs), the technology’s driving force, make it magical. That technology enables conversational AI, also known as generative AI. The LLM powering ChatGPT is OpenAI’s GPT-4, but there are now a lot of other LLMs, and that’s a significant portion of the story for 2023 as well. One of the newest is Google’s Gemini LLM, which drives Bard, a competitor of ChatGPT. Other possible competitors of ChatGPT include LLMs with different goals, such as Meta’s Llama 2 and Amazon’s Olympus.
Naturally, the applications of generative AI and LLMs extend beyond the development of chatbots. Among their additional applications are:
Using DALL-E to create AI-generated graphics from concepts
assembling lengthy papers, like research studies and contracts, into a summary
Marketing with sentiment analysis
Code assistance and automation for programmers
aid with writing typical document kinds
translation of written content between languages And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Future applications for LLMs are expected to handle an exponentially more significant volume of problems due to their increasing speed, efficiency, and capability.
2.A new era for AR and VR with Apple Vision Pro
With the bitcoin market’s collapse and mainstream customers’ general disinterest in 2022, the metaverse may have burned out, but something far more fascinating emerged in 2023. The massive spike in interest in cutting-edge, three-dimensional AR and VR experiences was primarily driven by Apple, a single company’s marketing machine.
Seven years in the making, Apple unveiled the Vision Pro headset during its Worldwide Developer Conference in June. The quality and fidelity of mixed reality experiences never seen in a standalone consumer headset not connected to a powerful computer astounded the media, technology analysts, and developer community. Apple referred to the Vision Pro as a new type of computer called a spatial computer rather than a mobile device.
During WWDC, I wrote, “Apple has made breakthroughs with the Vision Pro that will redefine technology, productivity, and entertainment for the next decade.” This was following my hands-on demo of the device.
Even if Apple Vision Pro won’t be out for months, I still stand by those remarks. Over the years, I’ve used several augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality headsets; nevertheless, the Vision Pro is the first I was eager to use again as soon as I ended my initial trial. This is because the encounters were so engaging and realistic.
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Naturally, Apple Vision Pro will set you back $3,500, and its initial release will only be available to a select few. However, it will make many more people want to attempt mixed reality experiences and open the door to a new level of them.
For example, when the $500 Meta Quest 3 with its freshly enhanced displays came in October, I was excited to try it after my Vision Pro demo. I soon found that doing aerobic exercises on the Supernatural app on the Meta Quest 3 was far more enjoyable and exciting than using a stationary bike, elliptical, or treadmill—something that Vision Pro won’t be able to do at launch.
Ultimately, Apple’s entry into this market has sparked consumers’ interest in VR and AR. A double queue of ten to fifteen children and their parents were waiting to test out the Quest 3 when I arrived at Best Buy on a Saturday in November. Two employees hurried to wipe out headsets and hand them to the next child in the queue. Never was this more evident than on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro were outsold on Amazon by Meta’s Quest 2 and Quest 3.
Conclusion
ChatGPT and Apple Vision Pro have likely given us “iPhone moments”—introducing a new product that will set the standard for what follows and inspire an entirely new wave of goods and experiences. Time will tell. However, it’s evident now that ChatGPT and Apple Vision Pro have given the technology a much-needed boost of excitement and vigour that has been lacking in previous years. They both deserve a well-earned hat tip for that.