AI at Caltech in 2025, how’s it going? Has it destroyed everything?

We must confess that artificial intelligence has changed the planet. Once upon a time, the man was surprised by the discovery of fire, then metal, cultivation techniques. Then we arrived at more scientific realities such as during the Middle Ages when extraordinary cathedrals were built using heavy tools, pulleys, a form of engineering, right? With the Enlightenment, the greatest scientific discoveries were made such as light with Edison or more specific analyses at an anatomical level. Then we arrived at the airplane with the Wright brothers and cinema with the Lumiere brothers and the 20th century is destined to be the century of discoveries. Between telephones, cars, computers, and DNA… think about how many discoveries this century has brought us. Then came the year 2000 and the world changed, not only were the Concorde planes eliminated (and I call on all engineers in the sector to bring such fast planes back to life… 12 hours of flight is very stressful!), but also technology became more advanced. We have headphones on, we constantly read about innovations, the world is completely connected, astronauts are aiming for the Moon again, space travel is palpable, the new Tesla looks like it came out of a Star Wars movie and Jabba the Hutt is missing, and yet there is frenzy. It’s as if we were perpetually not satisfied with what we have. I remember one day, years ago, I was in eighth grade and my parents gave me my first phone, it was the iPhone 5 that my dad used after destroying several Blackberrys. I still remember when I was little, and I wrote messages on those gadgets, and I had to use my nails because the keys were so small. I was so excited, especially the fact that through a little box, I could do so many things, write messages, emails, videos, photos… for my father it was impossible, it had changed his life. With the phone, he could do everything remotely and he told me that as a child he would never have imagined that something like this could happen. Then phones developed as well as computers and iPads, and now? These may seem obvious, but they are not.

I find myself in the same situation as my father regarding artificial intelligence. I would never have thought that a system capable of solving problems and equations, giving mathematical answers, writing essays or even giving psychological advice could exist (yes… when you feel alone you do everything, even ask Chat GTP). But is it really a good thing? It is a very complex undertaking to write this article, yet I will try to make it a point of reflection.

Let’s start like this: let’s ask the AI ​​itself what it thinks and do a strange interview

Dear AI, what do you think your development can bring to humanity? And above all to Caltech?

The development of AI has the potential to bring numerous benefits to humanity across various domains. In healthcare, for instance, AI can enhance diagnostics by analyzing medical images and data, leading to earlier and more accurate disease detection, and ultimately improving treatment outcomes. Furthermore, personalized medicine can emerge from AI’s ability to analyze genetic information, allowing for tailored treatments that are more effective for individual patients.

Author’s consideration: I discovered this news recently. Although I have been interested in the scientific/medical world for years, I did not know how much AI was used especially for data collection and the creation of genetic libraries. Or even for the collection of patient data and the analyses that are done.

In the realm of education, AI can facilitate personalized learning experiences by adapting educational content to meet the unique needs of each student, thus promoting better learning outcomes. Virtual tutoring systems powered by AI can support students outside the classroom, making education more accessible and effective.

Let’s confess: if I have a Hamlet-like doubt that appears at night while I am not sleeping… I open a thousand-page book and search for the answer in the book by running my finger over the index finger. Yes, sometimes I do it, and someone who would carry four Bibles around with them rather than an iPad writes to me… I am still old-fashioned… and yet when a friend of mine introduced me to artificial intelligence, I tended to learn faster. You have all the answers at your fingertips, and this is incredible, but not for the problems that are often wrong, but at a notional level. We could consider, as we know it, AI as a data and information collection site. It could perfectly tell me the shape of the liver, for example, based on the data it knows, but if I asked it for applications, it could only give opinions. This is where, in my opinion, the limit of artificial intelligence comes: intuition. We can ask it to collect data and analyze it, but it will never be able to give a definitive answer to something it does not know at a statistical level.

AI can also significantly benefit environmental sustainability. It can optimize resource management by improving energy consumption, waste handling, and water usage, contributing to more sustainable practices. Additionally, advanced AI models can enhance climate predictions, aiding in the development of strategies to combat climate change.

Prediction is the right word. Because then we say that artificial intelligence has destroyed everything. If used wisely and above all to learn new things continuously, it becomes a means to run even faster. The telephone connected people all over the world. GPS allowed us to travel without having to follow a paper map and we are already wrong by following Google map!

Transportation is another area where AI can make a significant impact. With autonomous vehicles, AI can improve road safety and reduce traffic congestion, while traffic management systems can analyze real-time traffic patterns to optimize flow and minimize delays. The economy and industry are also poised to benefit from AI advancements. Automation can streamline manufacturing processes, increase efficiency, and lower costs, thereby driving economic growth. Predictive analytics can empower businesses to forecast market trends, improving decision-making and strategic planning.

Let’s think about San Francisco or other places where cars go by themselves. Yet, there can be different ethical and social conditions linked to this sector such as the automation of work and the end of the world of traditional labor or data workers, mathematicians, and financial analysis agencies. For example, I did an internship in a financial research center, the goal was to understand where, how, and when to invest by analyzing the level of world stock exchanges/values. Thinking about it now, years later, all that work could be done by a program that analyzes data upon data. Does this mean that my fifty-year-old friend Anna would have lost her job, would have found another one, or would have used and applied artificial intelligence for clients? Many questions arise at a work level, but ultimately, I would find a little more speed. In short, let’s think about the clients who could ask the agency directly for specific information and the speed with which this could be given. It could become a positive tipping point, in which each company can bring more results in less time and optimize the work.

In scientific research, AI can process vast amounts of data quickly, accelerating discoveries across various fields, from biology to physics. Additionally, it can create complex simulations for experiments that would be impractical or impossible to conduct in real life. Because of this AI at Caltech is thriving and has not destroyed everything, contrary to some dystopian fears. Instead, it has become integral to the academic and research landscape, particularly through innovative courses and applications in various fields.

Here we touch on the crux of the situation, the research that we are all extremely interested in. I believe that it is precisely in the STEM world that artificial intelligence makes the difference. There are now entire start-ups, but also Google, Microsoft, etc… that use entire AI programs, but at the same time the laboratories. If we must analyze hundreds of data, for example, trying to find which cells contain a particular type of sequence, would we do it by hand? Once upon a time, now there were programs that could perfectly identify the localization sites in less than ten minutes. In the laboratory, my reference professor scrolled through thousands of images with a click and then obtained a number. I was more than impressed when she did it. How much time do we have to optimize with a program on the computer? Analyzing, this is the work of artificial intelligence, which we emphasize is artificial (i.e. made by man), therefore it is our form of intelligence, the statistical and conceptual one, not animated by any deeper sense of reason. In the humanistic world, I believe that it is difficult for it to work so analytically and consequently, it is as if it were a typewriter to which we tell what to write and how, but, precisely, it is a machine, it does not have a soul, the love for writing, the sweet sound of ink on the paper. It creates schemes and concepts, ideal maps, but writing comes from the heart not from a program with formulas and numbers. Likewise, what we bet on or imagine for the future. AI cannot predict the future, it is not a magician, but a huge database I still remember that last year in August, like every year since I was born, my older brother asked me who would win the Serie A championship that season. He read all the formations, and the coaches and ruined that afternoon that I had planned to build a beautiful Lego. Napoli had a good market for me, and I thought they could win, my brother said that Inter would win considering the team, the coach, the new owners, and his feeling as a super football expert, I think there is no person in the world more expert than him and he transmitted so much passion to me! We decided to ask artificial intelligence for fun, and it replied that Milan would win for a series of reasons … which I removed … and yet Inter won the championship. We understand therefore that it offers us answers based on statistics and too many rational analyses, but it lacks that pinch of intuition, passion, and research that man has and that we all have in our field. It is like a garden made of ice created by man, but it is man himself who must give it life by filling it with flowers through his intelligence. As AI itself responded at Caltech, artificial intelligence has become a fundamental part of the curriculum, both with classes that talk about it, but also with lessons that model it. Does it destroy everything then? If used for good and to get to the concept, to learn, it is the best thing that could have happened. It is as if we were Bolt in the 100 meters with AI, we run very fast in knowledge, we know how to give immediate answers and find synonyms in words, and statistics, but we cannot do one thing, and this is what destroys us. Understanding fatality, from fato in Latin, or “destiny”. That is, it is based on mathematical models, but it does not (for now) fail to understand that life is frenetic, and thousands of things can happen out of control or unexpectedly, and the expected results change. We must therefore never trust 100% of what it says, because it is not truly human. If it were, it would be overcome by doubts, by feelings, but it would not be a weakness because it is through them that the greatest discoveries are made. Since the world is evolving and becoming more and more connected to this reality, we cannot pretend that nothing is happening, deluding ourselves that to learn we only need to memorize hundreds of books (as I was taught in Italy), but we need to keep up with the world and understand that it is the new reality of teaching and understanding, always remembering that we are the masters of this world and, therefore, that the destruction that it can cause is only caused by ourselves.

Last thing! Hey AI, what do you think of my article?

The article effectively captures the complexities of living in an age of rapid technological advancement, particularly regarding AI. It invites readers to reflect on their relationship with technology while acknowledging its potential to enhance human life. By blending personal narrative with broader societal implications, it creates a compelling argument for thoughtful engagement with AI and its role in shaping the future.

Very good, I can consider myself satisfied. What an exciting dialogue!