By James Broughel – Making predictions is always hard, especially in an industry moving as quickly as artificial intelligence. But as we stand on the cusp of a new year, it’s worth reflecting on the progress AI has made over the past twelve months, as well as what might lie ahead for the technology in 2024.

2023 was undoubtedly a monumental year for AI, but fear and speculation often dominated the headlines. 2023 saw the rise of the AI doomers, with online commentators like Eliezer Yudkowsky rising to prominence for warning that AI poses existential risks to humanity. Adding to this air of pessimism was a high-profile open letter from leaders of the tech industry, calling for a 6-month pause on the most powerful AI research so experts can assess risks and create safety protocols.

Whatever the merits of such proposals, slamming the brakes on AI is unlikely to happen any time soon. Even if it were politically feasible to stop progress, it would be a strategic blunder to do so, when this would only put western democracies at a disadvantage relative to adversaries like Russia and China.

Furthermore, even those actively calling for a pause don’t seem to take the idea seriously. Signees of the letter, like Elon Musk, are moving forward with their own AI models regardless. Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Musk’s company, xAI, is the latest example.  Read On: