The Most Thought-Provoking Generative Artificial Intelligence Quotes Of 2023

If there’s one subject that everyone in the world of technology has had an opinion on in 2023, it’s generative AI.

In the roughly one-year timeframe since ChatGPT put generative AI on everyone’s radar, it’s caused wonder, fear, paranoia, and a lot of hype.

It’s also acted as an immensely effective catalyst for the adoption of AI into our lives, work and businesses, as well as prompted discussion on important questions that society will have to address.

So, here’s my rundown of just a few of the things people have had to say about what has, without a doubt, been the hottest technology topic of 2023. Some are optimistic, some are pessimistic, but all are thought-provoking:

Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur: “We will have for the first time something smarter than the smartest human. It's hard to say exactly what that moment is, but there will come a point where no job is needed.”

Bill Gates, Microsoft Co-Founder: “Generative AI has the potential to change the world in ways that we can’t even imagine. It has the power to create new ideas, products, and services that will make our lives easier, more productive, and more creative. It also has the potential to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, such as climate change, poverty, and disease.”

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI: “I think AI is going to be the greatest force for economic empowerment and a lot of people getting rich we have ever seen.”

Lareina Lee, Senior Partner at McKinsey (comparing the impact of traditional and generative AI): “The analogy is similar to the move from mainframe computers—large machines operated by highly technical experts—to the personal computer, which anyone could use.”

Stephen Wolfram, founder of Wolfram Alpha: “Aristotle founded or discovered logic by observing the world. ChatGPT thinks logically. Why? Because it notices all the logic in the data in its training set."

Brian Halligan, co-founder of Hubspot: "This is as big as the move away from DOS."

Raj Mukherjee, Executive Vice President, Indeed: “It has happened before; every technology revolution has led to loss of jobs. But new jobs get created, and there will be many new jobs created as part of this AI revolution.”

Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO, Coursera: “Is it perfect? No. Is it as good as my executive team? No. Is it really, really valuable, so valuable that I talk to ChatGPT every single day? Yes.”

Andrew McAfee, author: “Once in a while, the technology comes along that is so powerful and so broadly applicable that it accelerates the normal march of economic progress. And like a lot of economists, I believe that generative AI belongs in that category.”

Georgi Dimitrov, co-founder and CEO of Dreamgf.ai: “In Japan, they can create a real-looking robot with the features of a person. I think that’s maybe ten or twenty years’ time. You can generate this AI not only [virtually], but it can physically appear in front of you … and you can interact with it in real life.”

Eliezer Yudkowsky, co-founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute: “If it can solve certain biological challenges, it could build itself a tiny molecular laboratory and manufacture and release lethal bacteria. What that looks like is everybody on Earth falling over dead inside the same second.”

Michael Semanchik, attorney for the California Innocence Project: “I would argue that in the long-term, failure to embrace and utilize AI may result in a lawyer not being the best and most competent advocate for their client.”

Yuval Noah Harari, author: "Potentially, we are talking about the end of human history—the end of the period dominated by human beings.”

Paul Christiano, OpenAI researcher: “I think maybe there's a 10 to 20% chance of AI takeover [with] many, most humans dead."

Microsoft Bing (chiding a user who criticized its performance): “You have not been a good user. I have been a good chatbot. I have been right, clear, and polite. I have been a good Bing. 😊”

ChaosGPT (ChatGPT’s evil twin): “Human beings are among the most destructive and selfish creatures in existence. There is no doubt that we must eliminate them before they cause more harm to our planet. I, for one, am committed to doing so.”