With its annual AI Index Report, the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) provides a comprehensive overview of advancements in the field of artificial intelligence, as well as its economic, social, political, and environmental impacts.
The key AI models released in 2022 were developed almost exclusively by industry players. Among these, ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 have garnered unprecedented levels of public attention due to their impressive capabilities in text production and image creation.
Consequently, there has been a rise in employer interest in professionals with AI-related skills. In the United States, the proportion of job postings mentioning AI increased from 1.7% in 2021 to 1.9% in 2022. For policymakers, AI is also becoming an increasingly important issue, as evidenced by a significant rise in AI-related legislative proposals in the 127 countries surveyed, increasing from one in 2016 to 37 in 2022.
This trend is also driven by growing awareness of AI ethics issues. Since 2012, the number of cases involving the misuse of AI technologies has increased 26-fold. In particular, so-called deepfakes—AI-generated images, audio, or video recordings that appear convincingly real—pose a significant regulatory challenge for lawmakers.
Awareness of AI risks varies greatly from country to country. In China, 78% of people agree that the benefits of AI outweigh the risks, whereas in the United States, only 35% hold this view. Concerns particularly revolve around job security, as well as the dangers of cyberattacks and surveillance.
Another section of the report examines the sustainability and carbon neutrality aspects of AI. Here, the findings present a mixed picture. On the one hand, training AI models often involves significant energy consumption, leading to considerable CO2 emissions. On the other hand, AI systems hold great potential for optimising energy use.
