VIVE LA REVOLUTION! Yes, it’s all happening…and it will change our lives

WORDS: Greg Pride and Brian Usher PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

“If you think the AI revolution has happened at lightning speed, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

So says a former Silcon Valley veteran now living and working on the Gold Coast.

This industry whiz, who has worked for some of the world’s biggest tech companies and whom we can’t name due to his ongoing role with a major player, says AI is advancing at a rate that even he can’t fathom.

“I don’t think people understand how fast this is moving,” he tells Ocean Road.

We’re speaking with him in the same week a mother in Florida filed a wrongful death lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Character.ai, alleging her 14-year-old son fatally shot himself after having “abusive and sexual interactions” with a chatbot.

But the insider says even this type of AI technology, which allegedly led to the boy’s death in February 2024, is now starting to get old.

The tech guru, who recently returned to Australia after more than two decades working overseas including in Silicon Valley, says the breakneck pace at which AI is forging ahead struck him full-force last year when he went to outline a strategy to a Sydney-based company he was consulting to.

“I met with the CEO over breakfast at a hotel and said I’d walk him through what I think he needed,” he said.

“He said to me, ‘look, I don’t need that any more – I’ve already got it sorted’. I said ‘oh, how did you do that?’ He said, ‘oh, ChatGPT’. In five clicks, he had a strategy that I was about to charge him a lot of money for.

“It was going to take me six weeks to do – I had to understand the business, I had to understand the audience and various sorts of things. This (ChatGPT) was a tool that, even back then, had created a fabric to understand that almost instantly.

“He hit the button and up it came . And I sat there and I said, ‘holy shit’. And for me, I felt completely marginalised . I knew in that moment that this was going to be completely disruptive.

 “If you look at the last major industrial revolution, what that was doing was replacing the need for human strength in order to be able to get tasks done. And what was happening in this moment that I just described to you was … the realisation that this was about to replace human intelligence.

“And so, you either had to quickly work out how to leverage that as a tool to augment what you were capable of, or you were going to see hundreds of thousands of people displaced. And I think what the last 18 months has shown is that this is a technology that’s moving at a much faster pace than anybody realises, but it’s probably ahead of where anybody thinks it is.

 “What happens typically in these disruptive technologies is there’s a catalysing moment and then the milestones around the development quickly become compressed. And I can’t think of a technology where that’s happening at such a fast array. And part of the reason for that is it’s a system that’s now starting to self-author.”

One of the tech specialist’s early AI experiments involved using ChatGPT image generator Dall e to come up with an image that could not be found on the web.

“That image for me was a five-year-old girl in pink polka dot pyjamas holding a blue giraffe,” he said.

“You typed that in and ‘boom’. Then I put in  ‘write me up a five-stanza poem about a girl in pink polka dot pyjamas holding a blue giraffe which is her best friend and is named after me’. Again, five stanzas in an instant. Then I prompted it again to write it as if it was written by Dr Seuss.

“It’s mesmerising, but this kind of thing was state-of-the-art 18 months ago. Now, there are tools that can listen to this interview we’re doing and between you turning off your phone and getting back to your car, it’ll summarise the discussion, identify any gaps and write the story for you.”

So what will be the Next Big Thing in AI?

Among the advancements, our tech guy believes, will be what’s called advanced multimodal models which can integrate and process different types of data including text, images, audio and video – so that, for example, the AI-generated cover girl in this issue in Ocean Road  might actually become interactive.

“The stuff that’s going a few steps ahead in AI is the ability to find voices,” he says.

“And I think that’s the thing that’s going to be very prevalent in the next 12 months.

“So with voice augmentation and those sorts of things, the AI cover girl becomes far more interesting because she actually has her own personality that she’s self-authoring.”

Software that writes software is also another likely leap in AI advancement, the expert says.

For example, he says, software that “dynamically” rewrites itself to adapt to changing government leglislation.

Then there’s the development of agentic AI: human-like, interactive call centre agents and even AI-generated company “employees”.

“They’re more powerful than robots because they don’t sound like robots,” the insider says.

“Salesforce recently released a demo for one of the big US department stores – I think it was Barneys – where you call this AI agent up and have a completely natural conversation with it.

“If you’ve seen the movie Her (the 2013 Spike Jonze film where Joaquin Phoenix’s character falls in love with an AI virtual assistant played by Scarlett Johansson), it sounded exactly like that.

“It’s certainly not something that felt unnatural. It felt like a very natural conversation, and it’s a really good example of how companies will use this tech to augment their workforces very, very quickly.”

A real-life example is an Indian healthcare company with which the tech expert’s firm is working.

“The challenge in India is that a doctor has to see a patient every three minutes – they see a hundred patients a day,” he says.

“So if you think about that, in 180 seconds, they’ve got to welcome the patient, ask the questions, diagnose the issues, and then prescribe a cure.

“And so, they’re using agentic AI to augment a lot of that – where the AI is actually participating in the diagnosis, it’s prompting questions and then it’s dynamically determining, based on all of that, what’s the right course of treatment.

“And then the patients themselves have an interface on their phone. They can continue to process whether or not that was the right course of treatment and that’s great for the patient but, at scale , it’s also great for the next patient.”

The expert says AI cynics and naysayers highlight the things it can’t do.

“I think the real question is, well, what can it do today that it couldn’t do 30 days ago, 60 days ago or 90 days ago? And that’s where you start to see the pace of how fast it is in fact moving.”

Here’s an AI summary of interview with our tech industry insider (unedited):

The transcript discusses the rapid advancement and disruptive potential of AI, particularly generative AI models like ChatGPT. Key points:

• The industry insider describes being made to feel “completely marginalized” after seeing ChatGPT effortlessly produce a high-quality marketing plan in just a few prompts – a task the insider would have previously charged the client a lot of money for.
• The insider believes this technology is moving much faster than most people realize, with the potential to rapidly displace white-collar jobs rather than just blue-collar ones.
• Examples of AI’s growing capabilities include generating images, poetry, and marketing content, as well as enabling more natural language interfaces for customer support.
• The insider predicts the next big disruptors will be AI systems that can automatically rewrite their own software to stay compliant with changing regulations, and AI-powered “agent” interfaces that feel indistinguishable from human interactions.
• Overall, the transcript highlights the transformative power of generative AI and the need for workers to adapt by focusing on developing transferable skills rather than relying on specific job roles.

The Future of Humanity: Mo Gawdat’s Stark Warning on AI

“We’re entering a 15-year dystopia that will change everything.”

Words: Brian Usher

In 2017, Mo Gawdat set out on an ambitious mission: to make one billion people happy. The former Chief Business Officer at Google X, he brought with him not just Silicon Valley credentials, but a deeply human quest after tragedy shaped his outlook on life. His books Solve for Happy and Scary Smart struck chords globally. But now, his voice carries an altogether different urgency. Gawdat has sounded the alarm once again, this time not on happiness, but on the future of humanity. And if he is right, we are heading into a storm unlike anything civilisation has faced before.

“AI will not just disrupt jobs. It will dismantle the structures of society as we know them,” Gawdat told Steven Bartlett in a recent podcast. His predictions are neither casual musings nor sci-fi speculation. They are grounded in his time at the frontier of innovation, where he watched the birth of technologies designed to outthink us. According to Gawdat, the next 15 years will be defined by collapse, displacement, and uncertainty—before we emerge into something radically different.

Where Is AI Heading?

The exponential curve of AI’s growth is already visible. From chatbots to self-driving cars, the speed of change is accelerating. What took humanity decades to achieve in the industrial and information revolutions, AI is condensing into years. Gawdat warns that artificial intelligence is now self-learning, self-correcting, and rapidly self-evolving. “We are no longer teaching machines what to do—they are teaching themselves,” he says. This autonomy marks the point of no return.

The AI monopoly also raises concerns. A handful of corporations are effectively building the future for all of us, but with little regulation, their interests do not always align with society’s. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself admitted in a widely discussed letter that we are releasing a technology whose power we do not fully understand. The risk, Gawdat argues, is not that AI will suddenly decide to destroy us, but that it will reshape the systems we depend upon so drastically that collapse becomes unavoidable.

What Will the Dystopia Look Like?

If Gawdat’s vision plays out, the next decade and a half will be marked by upheaval. Jobs, he says, will be completely eradicated by 2037. From surgeons to accountants, drivers to teachers, no profession is safe. “AI is not here to take some of our jobs. It is here to take them all,” he warns. And with work being the backbone of identity and economy, the ripple effects will be profound.

In this future, freedom itself may shrink. “We’ll trade liberty for convenience without realising it,” Gawdat cautions. From algorithmic governance to AI-powered surveillance, the balance between personal autonomy and efficiency will tip heavily towards the latter. Capitalism, meanwhile, may implode under the pressure of abundance. If AI produces goods, knowledge, and services at near-zero cost, traditional markets collapse. Money becomes meaningless, ownership outdated. In its place, Gawdat envisions two possibilities: dystopia or utopia.

Do AI Companies Have Society’s Interest at Heart?

Here lies one of the sharpest questions. Silicon Valley has long sold innovation as progress, but Gawdat is unconvinced that the guardians of AI are acting in the interests of humanity. “It is not the scientists we should fear, but the shareholders,” he warns. In a system designed to prioritise profit over ethics, how can we trust that superintelligent systems will serve society, not corporations? Regulation, he argues, is not optional—it is essential. Without global frameworks and rules around AI, the coming years will be defined by chaos.

What Do We Do in This New World?

And yet, Gawdat is not all doom. He believes that within the dystopia lies the seed of salvation. If jobs no longer exist, we may eventually move towards a society of abundance, where everything is free, and work is no longer tied to survival. In that world, purpose shifts from labour to passion, creativity, and connection. “AI could, paradoxically, set us free,” he admits.

The danger is in the transition. How do we survive the 15-year gap between collapse and utopia? Gawdat believes the answer lies in preparing today. That means rethinking education, building resilience, and fostering emotional intelligence to thrive in uncertainty. It also means reimagining leadership. He controversially suggests that AI might one day replace world leaders altogether, arguing that machines could make more rational, unbiased decisions than humans driven by ego and ambition.

A New Belief System for Humanity

For all his technical authority, Gawdat’s most radical idea is not about machines—it is about belief. He calls it the “fruit salad religion,” a philosophy of picking the best ethical and moral practices from different traditions to guide us forward. Without such a shared belief system, humanity risks fragmentation and conflict in the AI era. With it, we might just find common ground strong enough to withstand the turbulence ahead.

A Future Still in Our Hands

So, will we live in a virtual headset, surrendering our reality to machines? Will we prefer AI surgeons, lawyers, and leaders to their human counterparts? Will we look back on these years as the beginning of collapse—or the birth of something extraordinary?

Gawdat is not certain. But his urgency is clear: we must act now. AI is not a distant horizon. It is here, already shaping the way we work, think, and live. If his predictions prove correct, the next 15 years will test humanity like never before.

And yet, in the same breath, he offers hope. If we choose wisely, regulate effectively, and embrace a new philosophy of abundance and compassion, then what begins as dystopia may ultimately end in freedom. The future of humanity, Gawdat insists, is still in our hands—if only we are willing to face it.

 AI Latest Updates — What changed since Dec‑2024?

AI is slipping into daily life faster than our instincts expect. Here’s what’s real now, what’s arriving soon, and what to simply keep an eye on.

A) Already here (things you can use today)

AI on the phone. More companies put friendly AI on customer lines. You can interrupt it mid‑sentence and it will catch up. Scam warning: in the US, regulators now treat AI‑voice robocalls as illegal — a strong signal worldwide to block fake voices.

Make video without a studio. New tools turn simple prompts and a few “key moments” into short clips. Think: set a beginning, middle and end, then nudge the camera moves and keep a character’s look consistent.

Pay and label. Big media and tech are striking deals so AI can use journalism with permission and credit. You’ll also see Content Credentials — a small, secure label that travels with photos and videos to show who made them and what changed.

New rules arrive. Europe’s AI law starts applying to the big general‑purpose models this year. Even Australian exporters are adjusting.

Jobs are shifting, not vanishing. Routine admin and call‑centre tasks move first; people are being retrained for the tricky stuff. Treat bold forecasts as possibilities, not guarantees.

Try this now: If your business has a phone line, tell callers when they’re talking to an AI and set up a “safe word” or PIN to beat voice‑clone scams.

B) Landing now (next few months)

AI that clicks for you. Assistants can open a browser, fill forms and draft replies — with a human supervising the sensitive bits.

More control in DIY video. You’ll get “keep this look” buttons and better story tools so your clips feel like part of the same series.

Private by default. Expect more AI to run on your device or inside a secure company system instead of the public cloud.

Pilots go big. Councils test approvals helpers; banks try compliance copilots; hospitals trial note‑taking — and keep humans in charge.

What to watch: clearer rules for big models, platform labelling for election‑season fakes, and the growing energy/water bill behind AI.

C) Still emerging (watch, don’t bet the house)

Self‑writing rule‑following software. Impressive demos, but keep a human reviewer and an off switch.

From chat to “get it done.” New “agents” remember context and use tools. The playbook for permissions and hand‑off to people is still forming.

Super‑long reading. Some tools can read huge documents at once; useful, but not a crystal ball yet.

Safer by design. Expect more apps to show Content Credentials before you trust a clip.