Hello, Reader.
Pick your metaphor…
The horse is out of the barn. That ship has sailed. The cat’s out of the bag. You can’t unbreak an egg. You can’t put toothpaste back in the tube.
Each of these metaphors conveys one distinct message: There’s no going back to the way things were.
That’s the exact message that describes the arrival of artificial intelligence technologies.
And it’s especially impossible to dial back AI due to its rapid technological process. For instance, since its launch less than a year ago, Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL) AI chatbot Gemini has undergone numerous updates, each more exciting and capable than the last.
In fact, code discovered in a recent analysis of Google Photo’s 7.1 software suggested an imminent AI-powered feature: Gemini-integrated narration.
This feature could analyze your photos, recognize people, places, and events, and generate personalized narrations for your Memories slideshows. This is a prime example of how AI is enhancing our everyday experiences in ways we couldn’t have imagined just a few years ago.
AI has entered into a limitless, ever-expanding universe of possibilities. And these possibilities include both creative and destructive powers.
So, in today’s Smart Money, we’ll dive into the extensive nature of AI and why you should embrace its trial-and-error process.
Then, I’ll share how you can be sure to stay on the beneficial side of this ever-evolving technology.
AI’s Growing Pains
Lots of folks want to slap leg irons on AI in some way, to prevent it from causing any unintended harm. They seem to believe that a controlled AI could be tamed and trained to perform only beneficial tasks.
Those efforts, while well intentioned, are likely to fail.
Like technologies of the past, AI will overwhelm all attempts to slow its progress. It will establish new rules that might, or might not, conform to the restrictions its would-be overlords might want to impose upon it.
In other words, trying to block technological progress is often pointless, even when that progress causes both harm and benefit.
Even a technology as benign as refrigeration causes, or at least enables, some measure of harm. Yes, a refrigerator can preserve foods that would otherwise spoil, but it can also nurture the bad behavior that causes food to spoil.
The “problem” with any technology is often the user, not the tech itself. In the hands of humans, most technologies have a split personality.
Gemini, to refer back to AI, has faced its own unintended consequences. In early February, Google, introduced a new AI image generator through Gemini, which allowed users to create custom images by entering a prompt.
The tool quickly fell under fire from social media, politicians, and just about everywhere else for depicting historical inaccuracies, such as racially diverse Vikings and American Founding Fathers.
Google responded with a post on X that the tool can “generate a wide range of people. And that’s generally a good thing because people around the world use it.” However, the company also admitted that the image creator is “missing the mark here.”
Google paused Gemini’s ability to generate human images at the time. Last month, though, the company announced the feature would be available with restrictions and new safety measures.
So, as Gemini serves as a prime example, the key to AI development is a balanced perspective. While we must be vigilant about potential misuse and work to mitigate risks, we should also accept the fact that AI comes with incredible potential for innovation and progress.
Transformative Potential
Focusing solely on AI’s risks disregards the tremendous transformative impact AI is having across various sectors.
In the healthcare sector, for example, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) is leveraging AI to streamline clinical development of its drugs. This will shorten time to market and extract deeper insights from clinical data. Underscoring this commitment, the company appointed a new Chief AI and Analytics Officer in August.
Additionally, a healthcare company that I recommend in my Fry’s Investment Report service is using AI to accelerate protein degradation. By recognizing patterns and revealing disease-implicated proteins, AI and machine learning are assisting scientists with unprecedented predictive capabilities. This technology helps to identify novel disease targets, develop new degrader medicines faster, and accelerate the delivery of new treatments.
When it comes to AI, we can’t fight progress… and I don’t think we should. Instead, we must anticipate both AI’s creative potential and its possible pitfalls.
Is there a dark side to AI? Absolutely, especially for companies that are sitting in the crosshairs of AI’s destruction. But is there also an upside to this developing technology and the companies that utilize it? Unequivocally, yes.
Similarly, every investment you make -whether it’s in an AI-focused company or in an industry AI barely touches – has two sides.
Every investment (we hope) has the potential for huge success… but they also can fail us.
That’s why, for every stock or fund you buy, you need to have a solid exit strategy in place. Something based on math and data, not emotion.
Which is why I want to direct your attention to a discussion that I had the other night. I sat down with a special guest who revealed a powerful tool that could help you determine an optimal time to sell those stocks who reveal their “dark side.”
You can watch our video conversation now.
We’ve secured a 90-day trial to for you, but you need to act before September 30.
Regards,
Eric Fry
Editor, Smart Money
