According to the CEO of Salesforce AI, the current state of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can be compared to the early days of the Internet. Clara Shih likens the AI landscape today to the year 1988 when the Internet was still in its infancy. Speaking at a panel discussion at Viva Tech Paris 2024, Shih suggests that society is on the verge of a potentially groundbreaking advancement in AI, similar to the period before the invention of the World Wide Web.
In 1988, the Internet was relatively primitive, with only about 60,000 users, mainly restricted to universities and government offices. It was in this year that the Internet started to become more accessible internationally, as countries such as Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden were connected to the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET).
Shih’s comments highlight the similarities between the development of AI and the Internet. Like the Internet, AI is not replacing current jobs but rather updating them. This perspective challenges the concern among working-class professionals about a dystopian future where AI systems automate and replace human labor, rendering the workforce obsolete. Shih expects a transformation similar to the early 2000s, when professionals had to adapt and learn to use the Internet and search engines like Google to enhance their work. Google was launched in September 1998.
These predictions align with the goals of the AI division at Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), a luxury conglomerate. LVMH aims to use AI algorithms to complement human workers, rather than replace them, according to Axel de Goursac, the director of AI Factory at LVMH.
In summary, the current state of AI algorithms is comparable to the early days of the Internet, according to Clara Shih. She believes that AI is poised for a groundbreaking advancement similar to the invention of the World Wide Web. AI, like the Internet, is updating work roles rather than replacing them. These predictions align with the goals of LVMH’s AI division, which aims to complement human workers with AI algorithms.