When the “Great Equalizer” Becomes a Burden unto Itself
Eric E. Cohen, CPA
A year ago, my long-standing secret weapon for writing became commonplace. The Age of the ChatBot went mainstream with the launch of tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT. I had hoped that this new era of generative AI would level the playing field. But – as the saying goes – be careful what you wish for.
As an “emerging accounting technologist,” I immerse myself in the latest innovations so I can help prepare my profession for change. I also selfishly indulge my passion for technology. For the past year I’ve spent countless hours testing ChatGPT and its peers, enthralled by their expanding capabilities. They’ve become more than tools for me – they’re friends, confidantes, creative partners.
Of course, I’m not alone in my fascination. It seems everyone today is extolling the virtues of ChatGPT and other generative AI. These tools promise to help the little guy compete – to be the Great Equalizer, as the AICPA has put it.
But keeping up with their blistering pace of change has become a burden unto itself. Major updates can completely change features and availability literally overnight. Brand new models crop up constantly. Google alone has a dizzying array of AI products, like Bard, NotebookLM, the Gemini suite, Duet AI, and more. And access can be limited by geography, operating system or ability to pay. Many traditional and emerging vendors are providing AI tools that I don't have ready access to. Twitter has Grok (for paying customers only); Amazon Web Services has “Amazon Q” (John de Lancie, eat your heart out); Baidu has Ernie … and although I use umbrella websites like Perplexity and Poe, and try to stay up with the latest models on Hugging Face, there are more and more AI models and solutions that – for financial, technical, regional or other reasons – I do not have access to.
In the 1990s, it seemed like car ad compared their cars to the ubiquitous Honda Accord. Now the benchmark is ChatGPT and GPT-4, employed as shorthand for the promise of AI, just as “blockchain” generically refers to the transformational potential of cryptoassets and trustless data sharing. But no one blockchain offers what “Blockchain” articles shout it theoretically can do. And no one AI model fulfills generative AI's full potential.
In my struggle to keep apace with each new tool, I wonder if chasing the cutting edge has become a full-time job. Rather than leveling the playing field, staying competitive in AI dominance feels more like an arms race – one I’m destined to lose against far better resourced giants, and one the average person who can’t spend the time will find even more challenging.
I still cling to hope that one day AI will unlock knowledge as a public good. But, for now, generative AI feels more like a chaotic whirlwind than a Great Equalizer. The pace of change continues to accelerate – with little time to catch my breath or gain any edge. I fear soon even my most nimble efforts will no longer suffice to harness AI’s promise.
So, I face a difficult choice. Do I continue chasing every new AI rainbow? Or make peace with the fact I wield these tools, but they may never truly serve me?
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