BusinessDay: Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World by Parmy Olson (Book review)

By Johan Steyn, 24 October 2024

Published by BusinessDay: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/life/books/2024-10-24-a-portrait-of-the-men-at-the-centre-of-the-ai-revolution/

Reading Supremacy by Parmy Olson was like getting a behind-the-scenes look at the core of today’s artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

As a technology columnist with years of experience, Olson captures the intensity, ambition and complex ethical questions surrounding the industry’s foremost leaders, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Demis Hassabis of DeepMind.

Olson’s story starts with a familiar point in recent tech history: November 2022, when OpenAI released ChatGPT, sparking public fascination and widespread use. ChatGPT’s ability to engage in conversations that feel human opened new doors in human-computer interaction.

She doesn’t just celebrate this achievement; she explores the broader significance of AI’s current wave of popularity. She examines why this technology has captivated the public and introduces us to the two men at the centre of the action: Altman and Hassabis. Their contrasting visions highlight the complex motivations and ethical questions that drive AI’s development today.

Altman is portrayed as a Silicon Valley prodigy, eager to deploy AI in practical applications that push the boundaries of what’s possible, even at the risk of AI’s imperfections. His enthusiasm for immediate deployment echoes throughout OpenAI, a company backed by Microsoft and driven by its commercial partnership.

Hassabis takes a more philosophical approach. A former chess champion and neuroscientist, he sees AI as a pathway to understanding human cognition and advancing scientific discovery. His company, DeepMind, acquired by Google, is likewise influenced by its parent company’s ambitions and is not immune to the pressures of corporate profitability.

Olson’s dual portrait of Altman and Hassabis captures the urgency of their rivalry, but it also illustrates the more personal stakes behind each company’s AI goals. Altman wants to put AI in everyone’s hands, emphasising accessibility and utility, while Hassabis dreams of an AI that can achieve breakthroughs in health and science.

Together, they represent two sides of a high-stakes race that may ultimately redefine intelligence and reshape industries. For readers, this clash of visions is both exciting and unsettling, as it shows how much of AI’s future depends on the individuals who control its development.

Olson skilfully transitions from these biographies to an analysis of the ethical tension between innovation and corporate pressure. With companies like Microsoft and Google funnelling billions into AI research, both OpenAI and DeepMind face enormous pressure to commercialise their technology.

In her exploration of AI ethics, Olson does not shy away from the uncomfortable truth that much of AI’s progress is shaped by profit motives rather than purely altruistic goals. While Altman and Hassabis may share high-minded ideals, their companies ultimately answer to tech giants that expect tangible returns.

Olson argues that this commercialisation of AI can lead to rushed deployments, with tools like ChatGPT being released before ethical safeguards are in place, a risky move for technology that could permeate every sector.

One of Olson’s most powerful arguments is that AI’s greatest impact may lie in the way it influences our imagination. She details how anthropomorphism — the tendency to see human qualities in machines — fuels the belief that AI is closer to sentience than it is.

By attributing human-like qualities to chatbots and other AI systems, people often overlook the fundamental limitations of these technologies. She carefully deconstructs the notion that today’s AI systems are truly intelligent, reminding readers that they are essentially advanced prediction machines, using data patterns to produce plausible outputs without any understanding of what they’re saying.

But what really makes Supremacy a standout book is how Olson raises cautionary questions about AI’s potential to change society. She covers issues ranging from privacy violations to the biases embedded in algorithmic decision-making. AI’s ability to generate human-like responses is fascinating, but it can also be deeply misleading.

The author recounts instances where AI systems, stumped by a question, fabricate answers — a phenomenon known as “hallucination” — and discusses how the unchecked spread of these flawed tools into education, journalism and business can have real-world consequences.

It’s not just about the possibility of AI becoming sentient or “taking over”, as science fiction would have us imagine. Olson paints a picture of a future where AI infiltrates daily life and shapes our institutions, not because it has become self-aware but because it has become commercially viable.

For her, the immediate risks are commercial and ethical: companies stand to profit by selling AI tools to schools, hospitals and government agencies without a thorough understanding of the unintended consequences. She details how flawed AI systems can perpetuate stereotypes and discriminate, and she questions whether we can trust companies like Microsoft and Google to handle these technologies responsibly.

In Supremacy, Olson also reflects on how previous technology fads, like the dot-com boom or blockchain hype, have promised to change the world only to fall short. She questions whether AI is headed for a similar trajectory, with immense investments riding on technology that may not fulfil its most ambitious promises.

I found myself both inspired and concerned. Olson’s writing is grounded in years of reporting on the tech industry, and her scepticism towards the grand claims made by AI’s proponents is balanced by a respect for its potential. For anyone interested in the ethical and societal impacts of technology, the book is a compelling reminder that we are at a crossroads. Her conclusion leaves readers with an urgent question: as AI reshapes the world, can we trust the companies leading the charge to act in our best interests?

In a world where AI is advancing faster than our ability to fully understand it, Supremacy is essential reading. It offers a rare glimpse into the motivations of AI’s foremost leaders, an exploration of the commercial forces that drive them and a sober reflection on the technology’s true capabilities.

Olson’s narrative is as timely as it is thought-provoking, and it encourages readers to consider not only what AI can do but also what it should do. For anyone who wants to understand the stakes of today’s AI revolution, the book is an invaluable guide.