2024 Will Be the Year of the ‘New AI Normal’: Researchers

A man takes a picture of robots during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 7, 2023. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images

Artificial intelligence will be integrated into our lives in 2024 as part of a “new AI normal,” leaders at the CSIRO National Artificial Intelligence Centre predict.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation joined a global chorus of leaders who have been touting the rise of AI in the future.

Just a few days ago, Bill Gates predicted artificial intelligence would accelerate discoveries in a way never seen before.

Looking ahead to 2024, the National AI Centre (NAIC) called this the “new AI normal.”

Judy Slatyer, leader of the NAIC’s Responsible AI Scale Think Take, described AI’s growing “normalisation” in homes, businesses and global markets, predicting that by the end of next year, many people will have an AI assistant and millions will be using advanced features of the technology.

“In 2024, hundreds of millions of people will be using the increasingly advanced features of AI in their everyday work and life. Already some 54 per cent of global consumers are using AI every day and we’ll see this increase significantly next year,” Ms. Slatyer said on the CSIRO website.

“By end of 2024, many of us will have an AI-enabled assistant. This will be either personalised to our individual needs or leveraging the increasingly ‘intelligent’ embedded assistants in the products and services we use every day.”

In addition, the thought leader also forecasts investor interest in AI will lift in 2024. She noted between July and August in the United States, AI terms were used five times more than in the final quarter of 2024.

“But AI systems will increasingly have to prove their value beyond just being technologically innovative to avoid AI becoming a fad,” she said.

Governments Could Act on AI

However, 2024 may also be a year when governments take action on controlling AI, the CSIRO predicted.

In 2023, global artificial intelligence company NVIDIA momentarily became a US$1 trillion company as a result of the AI boom.

Keith Strier, NVIDIA vice-president said dedicated government bodies will focus on AI governance in the future.

“I predict the rising adoption of large-scale AI models will lead to a shift. We'll go from talking about global AI governance to forming dedicated bodies focused on it. This might include new agencies or institutes within and across nations,” he stated as part of his AI prediction for 2024 quoted by CSIRO.

Kobi Leins, an AI ethics and governance head, quoted by the CSIRO, shared her insights on the role of governance in AI.

“I think governance is going to take the front stage as litigation increases and companies adopt more technology. The use of automation and AI will increase, but so will scepticism, guardrails and accidents. This is alongside rapid climate change and an increasing awareness that technology cannot fix all things,” she said.

“We need to be mindfully sceptical about the future. And most importantly, a lot more inclusive about who gets to decide what our futures look like.”

People check their phones as AMECA, an AI robot, looks on at the All In artificial intelligence conference in Montreal on Sept. 28, 2023. The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz

Bill Gates Predicts AI Will Accelerate

Meanwhile, billionaire Bill Gates predicted “artificial intelligence is about to accelerate the rate of new discoveries at a pace we’ve never seen before” in his latest edition of GatesNotes dated Dec. 19.

Mr. Gates predicted AI will see widespread use across the United States and in developed countries two years from now.

The founder of Microsoft said he used AI in his work for the first time this year.

“If I had to make a prediction, in high-income countries like the United States, I would guess that we are 18–24 months away from significant levels of AI use by the general population,” Mr. Gates said in a post.

“In African countries, I expect to see a comparable level of use in three years or so. That’s still a gap, but it’s much shorter than the lag times we’ve seen with other innovations.”

He said being a grandparent he has started thinking about the world his granddaughter will inherit, and what the world will look like when her generation is in charge.

“I can begin to picture it: the tools she will use, the ways she will stay in touch with her loved ones, the problems these innovations will help solve,” Mr. Gates said.

“We now have a better sense of what types of jobs AI will be able to do by itself, and which ones it will serve as a copilot for. And it’s clearer than ever how AI can be used to improve access to education, mental health, and more.”