There’s more to innovation than chatbots and AI

It is impossible these days to go very long without hearing or seeing a reference to artificial intelligence (AI). AI is ubiquitous. The message promulgated is that this technology will be used everywhere and will eventually replace the majority of jobs that are currently performed by humans. In the past week, Google launched its new chatbot, Bard. It appears that the launch was brought forward because of Microsoft’s announcement that it would be incorporating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its search engine and browser. ChatGPT, which is short for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, was launched at the end of November 2022. It is a versatile tool that can write computer programmes and various forms of literature (poems, plays and lyrics), among other activities.

ChatGPT can also write students’ assignments, so universities are wondering how to deal with it. As I write, there has been a warning that musicians and artists will be under threat from chatbots. However, the current technology is not infallible and has many limitations. At the launch of Bard, the search demonstration gave an incorrect answer to a question. This ability to produce a ‘definitive’ output that is factually incorrect is referred to as hallucination.

AI is an advanced technology, which becomes an innovation when it is used in a successful application. However, innovation does not have to be disruptive, achieved by use of the latest technology, nor is it predicated on being a brand-new idea. Substantial innovation can deliver benefits by incremental improvements or by the adoption of ideas from other industries or organisations. A good example of this is the ambulance train put into use by Médecins Sans Frontières in Ukraine (https://msf.org.uk/article/war-ukraine-guide-msfs-ambulance-train). The train is used to transport critically ill patients for treatment away from the conflict areas. The article is well worth a read as it highlights the factors that are required to achieve success: a team with complementary skills; the work, disagreements and challenges to achieve the required outcome; and the shared motivation to see it through to the end.

Necessity is the mother of innovation, to modify a well-known phrase. Another low-technology example is the hand-driven washing machine (www.thewashingmachineproject.org) invented by engineer Navjot Sawhney. He was driven to alleviate the tiring work of washing clothes by hand when he was on sabbatical in southern India. The machine is easy to use, does not require electricity and can wash and spin clothes.

A lot of high-technology materials go into the manufacture of modern running shoes. While my ageing body is very grateful for these design efforts, I take pleasure from some very simple additional innovations, as shown in the pictures opposite. The top image shows the shoes that prevented me from being sad when I wore them because of their bright blue colour, which have a pocket sewn on to the top of the tongue. This allows the laces to be tucked out of the way so that they do not catch on branches, etc, when running off-road. The middle image shows a simple piece of elastic, which does a very similar job. It does not take a leap of imagination to see the potential reduction in manufacturing cost with this simple idea. The bottom image shows a small incremental innovation on the middle image: a small loop in the elastic makes it easier to manipulate, especially with cold hands.

Innovation comes in many forms and, by definition, delivers benefits in all cases. In our day jobs, there is the tendency to make do with things as they are, or to adopt the approach of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. We should not be complacent, but keep an eye open for how we can benefit from improvements big and small. I’m off to learn how to get ChatGPT to write an NDT News column!

Please note that the views expressed in this column are the author’s own personal ramblings for the purpose of encouraging discussion within NDT News. They do not represent the views of Jacobs or BINDT.

Letters can be mailed to The Editor, NDT News, Midsummer House, Riverside Way, Bedford Road, Northampton NN1 5NX, UK. Email: ndtnews@bindt.org or email Bernard McGrath direct at bernard.mcgrath1@jacobs.com

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