The advancement of artificial intelligence has been remarkable in recent years, with large tech companies heavily investing in the development of chatbots such as Google's Bard, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Microsoft. Recently, even billionaire Elon Musk has announced his entry into this technological race. However, along with this progress, AI experts have warned about potential risks if the technology is not controlled by its creators, such as acquiring skills for which they were not originally designed. It is in this context that the concept of the "black box" arises.

The White Box

The notion of the "black box" contrasts with what AI experts refer to as the white box. When software developers create a program conventionally, the lines of code they write are transparent and clearly reflected in the functioning of the software, which is sometimes described as a white box. However, in the case of AI, the systems are different and resemble more of a black box, as what happens inside them is not fully understood. AI engineers do not expect these systems to generate such creative results autonomously, but as they develop, they experience significant leaps in their capabilities.

Unlike traditional software programming, where instructions are implemented to achieve a specific result, in AI, engineers work to create systems that mimic the neural networks of the human brain. These systems use large amounts of data and interconnected processors to detect patterns among millions of variables through machine learning and, more importantly, to self-adapt in response to what they are doing.

The rapid progress in AI research in recent years has been marked by an increasingly data-driven approach and greater computational power. Although recent technologies like Bard and ChatGPT may seem like recent developments, they are actually the result of a decade of continuous research and development. This trend toward constant improvement in the amount of data and computational power consumed by AI models has been evident for years and will continue in the foreseeable future.

The new capabilities of robots and AI systems have raised important questions about their impact on society, from the transformation of the labor market to public and military security issues. As these advancements become increasingly integrated into our lives, it is essential to foster an open and multidisciplinary dialogue about their ethical, social, and philosophical implications. Understanding how these systems work and how they may affect our lives is critical to addressing challenges and maximizing the benefits of AI in society.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to radically change all areas of our life. In fact, it could be considered the most powerful technology today. It is crucial that we carry out broader and public discussions about the speed at which these systems are advancing and how different they are compared to previous generations of software.