Hey Everyone,
2023 has brought us many tools, copilots and promising products that enable us to be more productive or empowered with GPT technology. Dozens of A.I. Newsletter have devoted themselves to the plethora of A.I. Tools. But how many of them do we actually use?
According to a new survey from Writerbuddy.ai, an online content writing company.
Writerbuddy analyzed over 3,000 artificial intelligence tools using SEMrush, a popular SEO software, to determine the most used tools of the year. Altogether, the top 50 AI tools attracted over 24 billion visits, most of which came from male users.
The 10 Most Popular Generative AI Tools
As found in CNBC, here are the top 10 most popular AI tools, according to the rankings:
1. ChatGPT
Tool category: AI Chatbot
Total visits: 14.6B
Learn about GPTs, coming in 2024.
2. Character.ai
Tool category: AI Chatbot
Total visits: 3.8B
Create your own AI generated Character.
3. Quillbot
Tool category: AI Writing
Total visits: 1.1B
View Quillbot for paraphrasing.
4. Midjourney
Tool category: Image Generator
Total visits: 500.4M
Learn about Midjourney Version 6.
5. Hugging Face
Tool category: Data Science
Total visits: 316.6M
6. Bard
Tool category: AI Chatbot
Total visits: 241.6M
7. NovelAI
Tool category: AI Writing
Total visits: 238.7M
8. Capcut
Tool Category: Video Generator
Total visits: 203.8M
9. Janitor AI
Tool category: AI Chatbot
Total visits: 192.4M
10. Civitai
Tool category: Image Generator
Total visits: 177.2M
🍎 Apple GPT
Researchers at Apple have reportedly made a major advancement in deploying large language models (LLMs) on mobile devices with limited memory, such as iPhones and iPads.
Is Upgrading ourselves with Generative AI Possible?
I asked the author of the Newsletter to guide us through an exercise in 2023. He is also the author of the Singularity Chronicles available on Amazon.
With a bevy of A.I. tools and copilots, I’m curious about people who are able to “augment” themselves in their work, entrepreneurship journey and personal life with the help of A.I. In 2023 we’ve seen employees, entrepreneurs, creatives, solopreneurs, creators, academics, scientists, physicians, students, among others improve themselves and their work flows in this way.
In 2024 are we going to see more artificial intelligence enabled empowerment?
👩🎓 Students
👨🏫 Academics
🎥 Creators
👨🏿💼 Employees
👩🏻💼 Professionals
💡 Entrepreneurs
🎨 Creatives
👨⚕ Physicians and Clinicians
⚖️ Lawyers
👩🏫 Teachers
💰 Investor
I reached out to Michael who is founder of Polymathic Disciplines, a strategic advising firm that delivers cross-disciplinary analysis and solutions for complex problems across products, processes, and people.
Michael has experience working at companies such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Honeywell Aerospace.
He has also led and delivered projects in AI/ML, autonomy, biotech, 5G, IoT, Industry 4.0, edge-computing, cyber, and electronic warfare for multi-billion-dollar enterprises, such as Chainalysis and Lockheed Martin.
Michael is according to his LinkedIn, an award-winning author and coach, sharing his insights and frameworks on technology, innovation, philosophy, psychology.
Subscribe to Polymathic Being
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September, 2023.
Michael Spencer from AI Supremacy recently offered the challenge of answering a practical application question: “Can Generative A.I. Make us all Polymaths and Company Founders?”
Challenge:
“Can Generative A.I. Make us all Polymaths and Company Founders?”
Introduction:
I’m sure many of you are wondering what a Polymath actually is!
A Polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής, polymathēs, “having learned much”; Latin: homo universalis, “universal human”) is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.
Fundamentally, I view this as an aspirational goal to reconceptualize the world around us, and allows me to draw from a broad array of fields to solve complex problems. I’ll point out that this definition doesn’t necessarily imply mastery per se. but knowledge.
So what’s the angle, if not mastery? As I explored in a previous essay on Systems Thinking, I think it boils down to three things:
Insatiable Curiosity
The humility to accept we don’t know as much about the problem(s) as we think
Intentional reframing of the problems to see if we understand them completely
I think anyone who claims that being a Polymath is an end state, misses the core element of being a Polymath. I am an Aspiring Polymath. The journey never ends.
Can AI make me a Polymath?
I think the introduction sets a solid tone on the mindset behind being a Polymath. AI can’t help you with that mindset, but it does provide a useful tool to executing that mindset. So what might this look like?
AI tools like the new Large Language Models (LLMs) provide pretty solid methods to challenge our own biases and to expand beyond our own domains of expertise. If used properly…
For example, Ethan Mollick and Lance Commings writing for One Useful Thing and Cyborgs Writing respectively, offer keen insights on properly using AI in academia and life as well as better ways to prompt AI to get better results.
A few tricks I’ve used to help me explore new areas is to use some of Lance’s prompt structures and play around to get new insights. For example
Prompt: I am an expert in [technical field] and I am exploring how to solve a problem that involves [insert problem here]. Please provide a list of other technical fields that are facing similar problems. Output a list of technical fields, problem definitions, and why you think they are related.
I like to run between ChatGPT and Bing with ChatGPT to build out the actual web resources to follow up on. It’s also fun to use the AI to help figure out the right questions to ask or considerations to answer!
(I should have asked ChatGPT this at the start but here’s the response now… It confirms I’m hitting the points and adds a few more that you can explore later!)
Prompt: I am writing an essay about whether AI can make people a polymath. What are a list of considerations I should prepare to discuss?
ChatGPT: Exploring the potential of AI in making people a polymath (someone who is knowledgeable in many different subjects) is a fascinating topic. Here are some considerations you might want to discuss in your essay:
Definition of a Polymath: Begin by defining what it means to be a polymath. Is it simply about gathering knowledge across various subjects, or does it also entail a deep understanding and original thought in multiple domains?
AI as a Learning Tool:
Customized Learning: AI can offer personalized learning experiences, adapting to an individual’s pace and preferences.
Broad Access: With AI-driven platforms, one can access vast amounts of information on diverse subjects, potentially faster than traditional methods.
Human Curiosity and Drive:
Even with the best tools, the human drive to learn and be curious is crucial. Can AI inspire this intrinsic motivation or just facilitate it?
AI’s Role in Synthesizing Information:
Being a polymath isn’t just about knowing a lot; it’s about connecting ideas from different fields. Can AI aid in synthesizing and interrelating concepts from disparate domains?
The Role of Human Experience:
Much of what polymaths know comes from life experiences, intuition, and tacit knowledge. Can AI replicate or complement these human aspects?
Potential Over-reliance on AI:
If people lean too heavily on AI for information and insights, does it reduce their own analytical and critical thinking skills?
Accessibility and Equity:
Will all individuals have equal access to advanced AI learning tools, or will there be a divide? Could AI both bridge and exacerbate educational divides?
Cognitive Offloading:
If we rely on AI to remember or process information, are we offloading cognitive functions and thereby, in the long run, hindering our potential to become polymaths?
Lifelong Learning and AI:
Polymaths are often lifelong learners. How can AI support continuous learning throughout one’s life?
By exploring these considerations, you can craft a well-rounded essay that delves deep into the capabilities and limitations of AI in the quest to cultivate polymaths.
I was right on track and ChatGPT gave me some more things to consider such as the implications of cognitive offloading, accessibility and equity, and the human dimensions of AI and a Polymathic Mindset.
There are other resources that are helpful like Perplexity.ai which has good source material but works better when fed prompts refined by ChatGPT. Also, tools such as WordTune and their ‘spices’ actually allow you to add data, analogies, and other tools to help bolster writing and expand that Polymathic Mindset such as the ability to create a counterargument.
This is useful specifically if I’m writing something with a heavier opinion, often on the topic of AI. To get out of my own brain-space I will run counterarguments against all my main points. The AI, like the ChatGPT example above, often provides pretty good material that challenges me to rethink or rephrase my point to make it more impactful.
AI can definitely help people get into a Polymathic Mindset if we use it to challenge, explore, and illuminate areas outside of our explicit domains and disciplines.
Can AI make me a Company Founder?
This section will be much shorter as the answer is No. AI cannot make you a company founder. However, as we explored whether it can help with the Polymathic Mindset, that is a resounding yes, it can definitely help with that.
Where the two topics crossover is that Company Founders do best when they embrace a Polymathic Mindset. You have to consider a broader range of implications for the technology solution you are attempting to sell as the conversation with ChatGPT showed above.
Also, you need to use that broader background as a potential Founder to balance three critical elements of organizational success.
Products: Transitioning from feature push to scalable pull.
Processes: Evolving from Ad-hoc bottoms-up to disciplined, agile, and aligned.
People: Maturing from scrappy to elite.
Success starts with the mindset first, as becoming a founder is not something that AI can just make happen. This step requires much more discipline, charisma, and grit than what AI is capable of doing.
In fact, being a Company Founder is something that is uniquely human and is not likely to be replaced by AI anytime in the near future.
Conclusion
AI is a great enabler, a co-creator, a valuable critic, and a tool that can challenge your assumptions. The key to using AI in any context is to leverage the superpowers that make us human that AI cannot replace, and then weave AI in as an enabler.
It all starts with understanding who we are as humans, how we can think differently with, or without AI, and then complementing our continued growth and development to achieve extraordinary results.
If you’re interested in more topics about Polymathics and Business leadership, please subscribe at www.polymathicbeing.com.
I’d love your feedback and insights because, as useful as AI is in some ways, it just doesn’t beat the real perspectives of humans collaborating and building great things, ideas, and relationships.
Check out these other articles for more counterintuitive insights:
Direction, Energy, and Accountability
Short Bio
Michael Woudenberg is an aspiring Polymath with a background in advanced technologies such as autonomy, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cyber, aerospace, national security, and weapon systems across a variety of companies from tech startups to Fortune 150 companies.
He is the founder of Polymathic Disciplines providing Systems Innovation to unlock the full potential across multiple domains and disciplines. He is also authoring “Counterintuitive Insights from Technology, Innovation, Philosophy, Psychology, and More” at PolymathicBeing.com
Follow the author of Polymathic Being on LinkedIn.
Listen to Michael about “Systems Innovation” as interviewed by Chris Porter.
I’m fascinated by Michael’s interdisciplinary approach and interest in science fiction as well as his exploration of how A.I. becomes more human in his own fiction.
Listen to the Podcast
Paradox
His first book in the series, is rated 4.9/5 after 15 ratings.
Is AI for Good real and does it really benefit “humanity”?
🎄 Season’s Greetings from A.I. Supremacy.
Read More in AI Supremacy
