In November 2022, the world was shocked when OpenAI released ChatGPT, an application that could engage in human-like conversations and write human-like text.
A mere two-and-a-half years later, xAI released Grok 4, which has demonstrated a PhD-level intelligence in every subject (and, yes, called itself MechaHitler) and Google recently released Veo 3, a text-to-video model that can create stunningly-realistic videos of characters who can talk.
Where will we be in another two-and-a-half years?
I’ve spent the last couple of years talking to friends, family, and podcast listeners about AI. And I’ve realised that — aside from a few outliers — most people still don’t get just how fast this thing is moving, or how fundamentally it’s going to reshape everything within the next few years.
Inside the AI industry, there’s growing consensus that we’re heading toward a world where intelligence is practically free. Not zero-cost, but close enough — think Netflix subscription pricing for access to tools that think faster, write better, and learn quicker than any human on Earth.
Today people are already using AI for a vast range of things – therapy, companionship, finding purpose, writing code and, where it’s been most impactful for me personally, improving their health.
But I think it’s important to remember that the AI we have today, is “baby AI”. If it keeps developing at the pace it has over the last few years (not to mention the “fast takeoff” scenario), then the version we have a few years from now will be make today’s AI seem like Clippy by comparison.
This is the dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again.
– Sam Altman
Maybe you’re thinking: “But it hallucinates!” or “It can’t even do basic maths!” And yeah, you’re not wrong — today. But if you think that’s where it’ll still be a year from now, you’re making a category error. This stuff is evolving on internet time. Don’t sleep on it.
Here are the questions every organisation should be asking itself — right now:
– What happens when every customer, employee, manager, supplier, journalist, investor, competitor, and policymaker has access to superhuman-level intelligence on tap?
– What happens when they can instantly compare every product or service we offer against competitors, and get personalised, data-driven advice from their AI on what to choose?
– What happens when their AI is sharper than any lawyer, accountant, or analyst we’ve got?
– What happens when our offerings can be reverse-engineered in minutes and improved upon by open-source AIs with no overhead?
– What happens when every student on Earth has the smartest, most tireless tutor in their pocket?
– What happens to our marketing when every customer’s AI knows their preferences, habits, relationships, media consumption — and shields them from anything irrelevant, manipulative, or untrustworthy?
This is the likely terrain of 2030. Not guaranteed, not utopian, not dystopian — just the logical extension of where the trend lines are already pointing.
Is your organisation ready to compete in that world?
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