Terrifying threats. Unprecedented opportunities. Change at the speed of a microprocessor. Across the country — and here in Charleston — that’s how experts are talking about the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence, or AI.
Driving that conversation, they say, are technological breakthroughs that have placed generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, in the hands of people and businesses across the world over the past three years.
But amid sensational headlines and breathless predictions of super-intelligent machines, governments, businesses and even everyday citizens are scrambling to prepare for — something. Even experts struggle to say exactly what.
As Charleston City Paper learned in a series of recent interviews, the Lowcountry’s digital harbor — and South Carolina — is no exception.
Charlestonians work to understand, prepare
While government officials work to formulate reasonable policies in Washington and Columbia, Charleston-area business owners, professionals and academics are already navigating AI’s real-world impacts…