Now the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report 2024 has said that misinformation and disinformation driven by AI are set to be the biggest short-term risks to the global economy, that’s according to risks experts, policymakers and industry leaders.
The role of AI is likely to come under increased scrutiny over the course of the next 12 months as we are in a year when more than 40 countries will be holding national elections, where there will be plenty of opportunities to deploy false information or ‘deepfake’ videos.
These worries over AI are certainly valid but they shouldn’t over-shadow the significant advances it’s helping to deliver.
One such advance, with profound implications, is the identification of a brand-new substance, which could reduce lithium use in batteries.
By using AI Microsoft and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), which is part of the US Department of Energy, were able to discover a new material that they say could potentially reduce lithium use by up to 70%.
Researchers using AI were able to narrow down 32 million potential inorganic materials to 18 promising candidates and did this in under a week. Without AI they would have taken over two decades to carry out this research using traditional lab research methods.
From inception to the development of a working battery prototype it took less than nine months.
Speaking to the BBC Executive vice president of Microsoft, Jason Zander, said that one of the company’s key missions was to "compress 250 years of scientific discovery into the next 25. And we think technology like this will help us do that. This is the way that this type of science I think is going to get done in the future." And he’s probably right.
Lithium is a key component in rechargeable batteries (lithium-ion batteries) and there are already worries that growing demand will squeeze supply, so much so that shortages are expected as soon as 2025. And mining lithium not only takes many years to develop but can have a profound impact on the environment.
Microsoft has demonstrated the impact of AI for the good and while research findings using AI should still be treated with some caution for once shouldn’t we celebrate what this technology can deliver?