CEO explains how a ‘leapfrog in technology’ can help companies catering to the blind community

The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted numerous companies to invest in and utilize technology to enhance their products and services. 

One CEO outlined how this “leapfrog in technology” will help companies “perform their services better.”

“What the AI promises to do, though, is solve these challenges more quickly, not only for the blind community but for these businesses that are catering to blind and other consumers. So what we see is like a leapfrog in technology that will help companies just perform their services better,” Be My Eyes CEO Mike Buckley said on “The Claman Countdown” Wednesday. 

Within the auto industry, healthcare, manufacturing and others, companies have gradually adopted AI technology as it opens a promising new frontier. 

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OpenAI debuted ChatGPT-4 earlier this week. The latest AI model will leverage more computation to create increasingly sophisticated and capable language models. The version also can now respond to images including text.  | Reuters Photos

Buckley’s company, Be My Eyes, is a mobile app for the visually impaired that launched a new digital visual assistant tool. The tool, Virtual Volunteer, is powered by OpenAI’s new ChatGPT-4, using AI to help the blind see.

“We have half a million blind and low vision people on the platform and over 6 million volunteers serving them. We also work with customers like Microsoft, Spotify, P&G, Barilla to make their customer service and accessibility better,” Buckley said. 

Earlier this week, Chat GPT-4 was debuted to the public, making the new version of the AI chatbot available to paying users of ChatGPT Plus and as an API for developers looking to build applications and services.  

The new version will leverage more computation to create increasingly sophisticated and capable language models. GPT-4 can generate, edit, and iterate with users on creative and technical writing tasks. Most notably, the new model can respond to images as well as text. 

“What we see is like a leapfrog in technology that will help companies just perform their services better.” 

– Mike Buckley, Be My Eyes CEO

GPT-4 can generate captions, classify, and analyze the context of images. It can also handle more than 25,000 words of text, enabling content creation, extended conversations, as well as document search and analysis, according to the research firm.  

“We look forward to GPT-4 becoming a valuable tool in improving people’s lives by powering many applications,” OpenAI wrote. “There’s still a lot of work to do, and we look forward to improving this model through the collective efforts of the community building on top of, exploring, and contributing to the model.” 

Be My Eyes utilizes Chat GPT’s newest version to specifically help address the needs of the blind and low-vision community.

“The work that we’re doing with opening AI in companies like Microsoft right now is to bring the world’s 253 million blind and low-vision consumer access to their products and services.”

The tool helps transform images into text and gives blind or low-vision people a new opportunity to gain more independence. 

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“The difference between GPT-4 and other language and machine learning models is both the ability to have a conversation and the greater degree of analytical prowess offered by the technology,” Jesper Hvirring Henriksen, CTO of Be My Eyes, said in an OpenAI press release Tuesday.

Beyond Be My Eyes, companies like General Motors are also expanding products and services through AI integration. 

According to reports, the Detroit, Michigan-based automaker plans to introduce ChatGPT, a popular artificial intelligence bot developed by OpenAI, and add an AI vehicle assistant for drivers. 

CEO Mary Barra detailed the new initiatives for General Motors on “The Claman Countdown” Tuesday. 

“Having an assistant and really being able to use voice that is clear enough that you can ask questions and get answers, I think that’s what the artificial intelligence will enable us to do,” Barra told host Liz Claman.

Reuters previously reported that the integration was part of the automotive manufacturer’s collaboration with Microsoft Corp., which announced earlier this year that it plans to invest $10 billion into OpenAI.

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Buckley noted how some reports show artificial intelligence is a $6 trillion opportunity globally as the areas for application are nearly limitless.

By incorporating AI, Buckley argued companies will not only be able to grow their products and services but also will have the opportunity to help a wider array of customers.

FOX Business’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.