Fear, trepidation, perturbation. When we were little, a multitude of dystopic novels or horror stories were centered around AI gone wrong. Now it is one of the most prominent technological advances seen across the world, so what changed? The first rise in interest in artificial intelligence began in the late ’80s. With increased funding and research, the prominence of AI grew rapidly across the world: it had a breakthrough.

With this newfound zeal for artificial intelligence came a spike in funding. Numerous advancements were achieved and eventually, these robots conquered the markets. In 2002, the beloved vacuum the Roomba was released and eventually, it could be found in households all across the nation. Shortly after, companies like Microsoft used AI for advertising and Apple developed Siri, one of the most used AI helpers across the United States.

Helpful, ameliorative, efficacious. AI began to be viewed as an asset rather than something to fear. Throughout the last decade, AI has continued to evolve and flourish, leading us to where it is today. The company OpenAI began work on a new program in 2020. Set out to break the confines of artificial intelligence, the company worked to create a code that would produce content indistinguishable from that a human could write; this program was called ChatGPT.

What is now used as a tool throughout middle schools, high schools, and colleges alike was once a mere possibility. So while it may seem like ChatGPT and AI broke the barrier in recent years, the lead-up has been gradual and rigorous.