'Many people may be surprised, but artificial intelligence has been in development for 80 years', adds Aleksandra Przegalińska, a professor at the Kozminski University. 'This is a field in which new algorithms are being created that can learn from data and improve what they do', she says.

She reminds that there are many subfields of artificial intelligence. 'There are algorithms that power robotics; there are machine vision algorithms that can recognize objects around you. There are so-called predictive algorithms that are responsible for reliable weather forecasts or perform analytics on potentially suspicious bank transactions. Recently, a very +hot+ field of artificial intelligence has been the so-called generative AI, algorithms that operate probabilistically, capable of generating, producing something. They can, for example, generate texts, visualizations, images, musical compositions, videos. They are largely similar to other predictive algorithms, but they also have the property of generating something new based on data, Przegalińska says.

The expert emphasises that this is a huge change: 'Not only because the algorithms perform their tasks quite well - although they have their limitations; but because in principle this is the first wave of algorithms with which you can talk to; which do not need to be programmed; where these technical skills (on the part of the user - ed. PAP) may be at a much lower level, while the skills that are natural to us - conversational ones - can be used to their full potential. Everyone can talk to ChatGPT or another model and get something from it'.

According to the expert, in the two and a half years, i.e. since the premiere of ChatGPT - not only have many more models appeared, but there has also been a revolution in terms of accessibility. 'This technology has become maximally accessible; there are no barriers related to competences here', she says.

As a result, this technology is used on a very large scale.

It is used by professionals, for example, to create programming code. 'When it comes to the work of programmers, this change is really big. There are professions in the area of ​​programming that are disappearing right before our eyes', the expert points out. 'On a slightly smaller scale, because they are not as perfect - these models are used in other areas, e.g. in management, in creation, in creativity', she adds.

Przegalińska emphasises that the great challenge related to AI concerns the education sector. 'We know that students use these models while learning. And this is OK; it is a kind of tutor for them, it helps them prepare. But on the other hand (students) simply assign this artificial intelligence to do things instead of doing those things themselves. And this means that they ultimately lose out because they will not learn things, because they will delegate some task to technology. This is a very big challenge: how do we deal with it? How to verify whether someone really knows something and grade check their work with such democratisation of these tools?', the expert wonders.

In recent months, there has been increasing talk about the problem of AI-generated papers, which are then published in renowned scientific journals without any indication that artificial intelligence was involved in the creation process.

Przegalińska emphasises that such actions do no good to anyone in the scientific community. 'If we allow ourselves to produce knowledge that is not knowledge, but a hallucination - we will all lose', the researcher concludes. She suggests that in the coming years, people of science must verify 'where this technology really gives value, and where it is only a springboard to the next rung of the career ladder, to +score+ publications'. 'Because this is a very weak strategy that does not build good science', she says.

She adds that AI is worth using as a very valuable tool, e.g. in chemistry, physics or social research: 'there is definitely a place for it there'.

'I think we are slowly beginning to see a correction of sorts. Understanding that anyone can generate any paper these days - as a scientific community, we are responding to this with increased verification', she says.

Aleksandra Przegalińska took part in the Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit (June 4-5, Warsaw). The Polish Press Agency was the media sponsor of the event. (PAP)

PAP - Science in Poland

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