Artificial intelligence: How soon will we see meaningful progress?

The field of artificial intelligence has exploded in the last year. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are now used by hundreds of millions of people around the world for everything from writing college term papers to computer code.

On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, cognitive scientist and AI researcher Gary Marcus discussed AI’s exponential growth and where the biggest advancements might be in the next few years. One word stands out: uncertainty.

Massive amounts of money have been pumped into AI research and development, but Marcus warns that just because investors are excited, doesn’t mean we’ll see meaningful progress. He cites the example of driverless cars, a field that’s received over $100 billion in investment, but hasn’t yet delivered on its initial promise.

“Large language models are actually special in their unreliability,” Marcus tells Bremmer, “They're arguably the most versatile AI technique that's ever been developed, but they're also the least reliable AI technique that's ever gone mainstream.”

Marcus says that even with the emergence of more advanced models like ChatGPT-5, the reliability of AI to give accurate information in critical areas, like medicine, is still a distant reality. For the near future, at least, generative AI tools will need “humans in the loop” will remain essential for almost all of the uses of AI we’re really benefiting from.

Watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.