Exploring the power and pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence.
“Large language models” (LLMs) underly all the current generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Grok. The same technology is also the basis for the AI image and video tools like Midjourney, DALL-E! Leonardo, Firefly and Stable Diffusion. Before we get into the main thrust of this blog, which…
There has been great public excitement about artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular generative AI, ever since the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022. The underlying large language model (LLM) technology allows AI models to generate content on a wide range of subjects in a fluent, conversational manner. From answers to basic questions…
The hottest topic at the moment in artificial intelligence (AI) is “agentic AI”. This is the idea of AI systems that have autonomous decision-making ability and the ability to take action. In principle, these may be actions without human supervision. This is quite different from the current use of chatbots such as Claude, Perplexity, Grok…
There is no doubt that AI is having a huge impact on the world. Statements by the likes of McKinsey and Goldman Sachs have predicted huge economic effects, though some more recent studies, such as this from the MIT Sloan School of Management, are more nuanced. ChatGPT claims 800 million users in mid-2025, and is…
Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT burst on the scene in November 2022, there has been a buzz of excitement about the possible use cases for generative AI. From medical imaging to writing marketing material, from generating illustrations to translating between languages, generative AI has created a popular wave of awareness that is rare for a new…
In the emerging world of AI, how can we get the best out of our new silicon helpers? Large language models (LLMs) are the basis of all generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, LLAMA and Gemini. They can understand and generate human text based on huge amounts of training data, such as large…
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and life sciences has a long history. In 1971, the University of Pittsburgh developed a tool called INTERNIST-1. This used a database of disease profiles and algorithms to help with clinical decision-making, including interrelated diagnosis. It did well, and was later commercialised as a product called QMR. Further AI…
The latest trend in the AI world is “agentic AI”, where AI agents are linked together and given autonomy to make decisions and carry out actions. For example, you might use a current AI tool like ChatGPT to research a holiday for you, checking for flights, hotels, and restaurants in your chosen destination. An agentic…
One aspect of generative AI that seems curious is the different rates of progress that the large language models (LLMs) have made in general-purpose text generation compared to their progress in image creation. It is now getting on for three years since the release of Open AI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, yet the progress of…
There has been a tidal wave of interest and investment in AI since the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022 by OpenAI. Over half of all global venture capital investment in 2024 was in AI-focused companies. Application areas have ranged from mundane to exotic, across a spectrum of industries. It has been used from customer service chatbots to…