Each day brings a new headline on artificial intelligence. Which stories should capture our attention and which are just clickbait?

In a new episode of the Cornell Keynotes podcast from eCornell, Karan Girotra — the Charles H. Dyson Family Professor of Management and professor of operations, technology and innovation at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Cornell Tech — explains the current capabilities of AI and shares the most newsworthy updates about the technology.

Some business leaders believe artificial intelligence is set to replace human workers in the not-so-distant future. Time will tell. In the interim, advances in AI are helping professionals streamline their daily workflows in exciting ways.

"Technically, I think OpenAI is ahead and Google is catching up, or pretty close now, one could say, maybe a few months behind. But Google does have one big advantage, which Microsoft also does. Google has distribution. So OpenAI, you've got to go to OpenAI products, you've got to download ChatGPT — if they have the app soon, which they claim they will.

We'll find out about OpenAI because . . . people who are tech savvy, or interested in this stuff, follow the news. For Google's products to reach people and for Microsoft products to reach people, you don't need to follow the news. Google can integrate all of these technologies within the workflows that are supported by Google products already. And that's a big advantage."

—Karan Girotra

In the episode, Girotra also covers:

• Recent announcements from OpenAI, Microsoft and Google
• Advancements in making AI more like the human brain
• Integration of classification and generation capabilities
• Improvements to reduce latency in generative AI
• Distinctions between small and large language models
• AI agents and the task plans they can create
• Reductions in cost as the technology improves
• Ethical concerns and unintended consequences
• Science fiction’s influence on society’s understanding of AI
• “Scalable dumbness” vs. sentient brilliance
• Value of AI as a general-purpose technology in business
• AI experiments and endpoints for businesses
• Reducing anxiety and fear of AI among employees
• Structures of change, innovation engines and intelligent failure

Listen to Episode 35, AI Today: Current Trends in Generative AI Tech.

Visit Simplecast to read more about this episode, and join Cornell’s most celebrated scholars and industry experts for candid conversations on trending topics and current events by subscribing to the Cornell Keynotes podcast.

Karan Girotra is an author of three online eCornell programs:

• Generative AI for Productivity
• AI for Digital Transformation
• Digital Leadership

Follow Girotra on LinkedIn and X, and register to attend upcoming Cornell Keynotes in his AI Today series:

• July 1, 2024
• August 12, 2024

Learn more about OpenAI:

• Introducing GPT-4o Playlist
• Spring Update

Follow eCornell on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X to get weekly Cornell Keynotes podcast updates.