Gemma Lara Savill
The AI tipping point: understanding the new through the old
By Gemma Lara Savill
Published at June 7, 2025
In a recent conversation about my career five years from now, AI was undeniably in the picture. The question, however, was how much of the picture it would represent. The future is always hard to fully discern, but right now, it feels as if we're standing at a significant AI "corner."
Perhaps our decade is analogous to 1970, when computing transitioned from room-sized mainframes to the ubiquitous personal computers we now take for granted. The microprocessor was invented in 1971, which was the critical enabling technology for personal computers. That era was defined by the advent of silicon chips and the full explosion of Moore's Law.
Today, in the realm of AI, we've just witnessed a similar leap. We've moved beyond traditional, highly specialized Machine Learning models that required vast amounts of meticulously labeled data for training, to the powerful, general-purpose Foundation Models that underpin Generative AI. Models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Llama, and Perplexity are not just improving rapidly; their progress appears to outpace even Moore's Law, consistently breaking new ground across a diverse array of challenging benchmarks. These include sophisticated evaluations of knowledge and reasoning like MMLU (Massive Multitask Language Understanding), comprehensive assessment frameworks like HELM (Holistic Evaluation of Language Models), and metrics designed to judge the quality and fidelity of generated content, often relying on extensive human evaluations.
Just as the personal computer became a foundational tool across countless professions, Foundation Models offer the same promise of broad applicability. They are, as their name suggests, a base upon which almost anything can be built. Think of the PC's journey: from a doctor's desk to a lawyer's office, from student use to entirely new categories of applications emerging over the years.
Generative AI, therefore, heralds an era of truly general usage. The pressing question now seems to echo the early days of the Internet: do you want to be a user, or a master? Many of us remember being "web users" and some, like myself, even transitioned into "webmasters."
We can't yet name the jobs of the future, just as no one in 1970 could have foreseen the array of roles that emerged with the personal computer. This technological shift isn't confined to software; it's also poised to impact the real world in the form of new devices. We've seen the evolution from PCs to laptops, smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches. That trajectory would have been incredibly difficult to predict from the past.
AI appears to be on a similar path. The recent joint venture announced by Sam Altman, from OpenAI and Jony Ive, the design genius behind the iPhone, strongly suggests that innovative new devices are on the horizon. Perhaps one day, in the not-so-distant future, smartphones won't be our primary mode of interaction. For a Mobile Engineer like myself, this begs the question: what will my main role look like 5 years ahead?
And what about the platforms? Is the current landscape of ChatGPT, Gemini, Llama, and others analogous to the past rivalry of Linux, Windows, or macOS on PCs? Which will prevail? All of them? Some? Only one? Or something entirely new that we haven't even conceived of yet?
My take on all of this remains consistent: peering into the future is inherently challenging. Some moments, however, feel more opaque than others. My career has certainly spanned numerous technological transformations, and that's precisely what makes it exciting: constant change, new ideas, and fresh approaches to long-standing challenges.
So, what will my career look like in five years? I have no definitive idea, but I am certain it will be exciting. As I've mentioned in a previous post, 'Embrace change and leverage new technology to reach your goals,' the key is to 'Stay agile, harness the latest tech to chase your dreams, and adapt to conquer your goals.'
Perhaps, as the great karate master Gichin Funakoshi advised:
"To search for the old is to understand the new.
The old, the new, this is a matter of time."Gichin FunakoshiMartial Arts sensei, school teacher, philosopher, poet.
