The Cyclical Nature of Technological Progress

Tracing Tech Evolution: How AI Mirrors the Past

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it definitely rhymes. This has been proven time and again, especially with technology as it evolves, and we are currently witnessing this with AI.

Let me explain how!

Railways, invented in the 19th century, utilized massive steam engines for mass transportation; with more cumbersome machinery and were not designed for a personalized experience.

Over time, gas engines were developed that were smaller and more efficient. This advancement enabled the production and proliferation of cars, which also offered a more personalized experience.

We are observing a similar trend with large language models (LLMs). Initially, LLMs were general-purpose and sizeable, now smaller language models are performing better than some larger models, they are cheaper, and open source that allows for proliferation/democratization of tech, and capable of delivering more personalized experiences through fine-tuning!

The below image was created by Midjourney, an AI image generation model depicting the first internal combustion engine that led to the production of cars!